The AHS Philadelphia Chapter, in partnership with the Franklin Institute, the American Helicopter Museum and Education Center (AHM&EC), and the Philadelphia chapters of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and the Army Aviation Association of America (AAAA), presents:
The 75th Anniversary of the
First Rotating Wing Aircraft Meeting
The Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
October 27, 2013
The First Rotating Wing Aircraft Meeting was held by the Philadelphia Chapter of the Institute of Aeronautical Sciences (IAS, the forerunner of AIAA) at the Franklin Institute on October 27-29, 1938. It was the first international meeting on rotary-wing aircraft and marked a turning point from autogyros to helicopters. It was from this event that the American helicopter industry was born. AHS was founded less than five years later.
This special event will be held where it all started!
New! Enter the special commemorative coin design contest!
Preliminary schedule:
Sunday October 27, 2013 1:00 PM – 9:30 PM
1:00 - 6:00 Celebration Program - Hall of Aviation
6:00-7:30 Cocktail Reception & Silent Auction
7:30-9:30 Dinner in Franklin Hall
- A summary of the event was published in the Franklin Institute's "The Institute News" in 1938:
"In October, 1938, under the sponsorship of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Institute of Aeronautical Sciences, a three-day meeting was held at the Institute, October 27th, October 28th and October 29th, on the study of “rotating wing aircraft” in the Lecture Hall of the Institute. On Thursday, October 27th, those attending heard Dr. Alexander Klemin read a paper on “Rotating Wings.” On Friday, October 28th, Ralph McClarren, the Institute’s Assistant Associate Director of Aviation, presented a review of rotating wing air craft, with papers in the morning dealing with development and improvement of such aircraft and in the afternoon, sessions on application and uses. Finally, on Saturday, October 29th, the discussion centered around research facilities and programs."
- The Proceedings of the First Annual Rotating Wing Aircraft Meeting [13 MB pdf] are also available for free download thanks to the kind permission of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Greater Philadelphia Section. All rights reserved.
- "A Critical Re-Examination of the Franklin Institute Rotating Wing Aircraft Meeting of October 28 - 29, 1938: Facts and Myths Surrounding the Foundations of Autogiro/Convertiplane/Helicopter Development in America and Europe," presented at the AHS Forum 62, 2006.
- "The 1938 Franklin Institute Meeting: Evolution and Revolution in Rotary Wing Aircraft," Vertiflite, Summer 2007.