Harold F. Pitcairn
N 40° 07.920 W 075° 03.501
18T E 495028 N 4442409
1897-1960
From boyhood airplanes had fascinated Harold Pitcairn. In 1916, he attended the Curtiss Flying School at Newport News, Virginia, and later graduated from the Army Air Cadet School in 1918. With a fellow aviation enthusiast, Agnew E. Larsen
Waymark Code: WM1RQH
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 07/03/2007
Views: 108
The noted aeronautical pioneer established his first flying field on this site in 1924. The 1930 Collier Trophy, an award for accomplishments in aviation, was presented to Pitcairn and his associates for developing the American autogiro, first introduced here.
Pitcairn devoted a quarter of a century prior to World War II to developing rotary-wing flight. He flew the first rotary-wing craft, or autogiro in the U.S. His autogyros were so safe and agile that his pilots made headlines with stunts. One of these stunts was landing on the White House lawn when Pitcairn received the Collier Trophy (mentioned above) from President Hoover on April 22nd, 1931.
Marker Name: Buck & Paper Mill Rds., Bryn Athyn
County: Montgomery
Date Dedicated: 04/29/1972
Marker Type: Roadside
Location: Buck & Paper Mill Rds., Bryn Athyn
Category: Invention, Medicine & Science, Professions & Vocations, Transportation
Website: [Web Link]
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