American Helicopter Museum

American Helicopter Museum
Map
EstablishedOctober 1996[1]
Location1220 American Boulevard
West Chester, Pennsylvania,
United States
Coordinates39°59′31″N 75°34′44″W / 39.992°N 75.579°W / 39.992; -75.579
TypeAviation and History[2]
Visitors30,000[3]
FounderBob Beggs and Peter Wright Sr.
DirectorPaul Kahan
Public transit accessSEPTA Route 92[4]
Websitehelicoptermuseum.org

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.[2] The collection contains over 40 civilian and military, autogyros, convertiplanes and helicopters, including some early generation models.[2] The museum also has an extensive research library, the Renzo Pierpaoli Memorial Library,[2] 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.

  1. ^ Helicoptermuseum-History Retrieved 2023-08-05
  2. ^ a b c d American Helicopter Museum & Education Center. "American Helicopter Museum & Education Center" brochure, circa 2007.
  3. ^ "American Helicopter Museum". Philadelphia Pass. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
  4. ^ "SEPTA.org | Service Information". www4.septa.org. Retrieved Apr 27, 2020.