FutureFlight
Piasecki To Develop and Build VTOL Vehicles in Former Sikorsky Helicopter Facility
The Coatesville, Pennsylvania factory produced Sikorsky S-76 and S-92 helicopters before Lockheed Martin closed it in 2022.
Piasecki's PA-890 hydrogen-powered helicopter will carry a pilot and  seven passengers over 200 nautical miles.
Piasecki Aircraft Corp says its PA-890 hydrogen-powered helicopter will carry a pilot and seven passengers over 200 nautical miles. (Image: Piasecki Aircraft Corp.)

Piasecki Aircraft Corporation (PiAC) is acquiring Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky Heliplex facility in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, to establish a research and development hub for VTOL aircraft and uncrewed aerial systems. The 219,000-sq-ft site previously served as the production and delivery center for Sikorsky’s S-76 and S-92 helicopters.

Among the program’s PiAC plans to base in Coatesville is its PA-890 hydrogen-powered helicopter. The company aims to fly a technology demonstrator of the slowed-rotor winged helicopter by the end of this year as it works toward FAA type certification in 2028.