American Helicopter Museum & Education Center
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| Established | October 1996 |
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| Location | 1220 American Boulevard West Chester, Pennsylvania United States |
| Coordinates | 39°59′31″N 75°34′44″W / 39.992°N 75.579°W |
| Type | Aviation and History |
| Visitors | 30,000 |
| Director | Sarah M. Sands |
| Public transit access | SEPTA Route 92 |
| Website | www.americanhelicopter.museum |
The American Helicopter Museum & Education Center (AHMEC) is located at 1220 American Boulevard, West Chester, Pennsylvania, United States. The transport museum focuses on the history, science and technology of rotary wing aviation. The collection contains over 40 civilian and military autogyros, convertiplanes and helicopters, including some early generation models. The museum also has an extensive research library, the Renzo Pierpaoli Memorial Library, which contains documents, artifacts, films, and memoirs that museum members can use.
The museum strives to restore and display historic aircraft and chronicle the origin and development of rotary wing aircraft. The museum's exhibits chronicle the efforts of pioneers like Harold Frederick Pitcairn, Mr. W. Wallace Kellett of Kellett Autogiro, Arthur M. Young and Frank Piasecki, and today it continues to record the new and ever expanding role of the U.S. helicopter industry. The exhibits span the history of rotary wing aircraft from the earliest rotorcraft to the latest developments in tiltrotors, and AHMEC is one of only two museums in the world currently displaying a V-22 Osprey.
The American Helicopter Museum & Education Center opened to the public in October 1996 to serve as a "lasting tribute to those men and women who pioneered the development of rotary wing aircraft" and to encourage future generations of aviation pioneers.
According to the website, no one person has played more of an important role in the founding and building of the American Helicopter Museum & Education Center than distinguished aviator Peter Wright. A celebrated veteran of the famed Flying Tigers (1941–42), and founder of Keystone Helicopter Corporation (which was acquired in 2005 by Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation), Mr. Wright is considered a pioneer of the commercial helicopter industry. He has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors including the Distinguished Flying Cross. Largely because of his vision, his devotion to the cause and his unceasing efforts the American Helicopter Museum & Education Center became a reality in 1996.
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