American Helicopter 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.
| Established | October 1996 |
|---|---|
| Location | 1220 American Boulevard West Chester, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Coordinates | 39.992°N 75.579°W |
| Type | Aviation and History |
| Visitors | 30,000 |
| Founder | Bob Beggs and Peter Wright Sr. |
| Director | Paul Kahan |
| Public transit access | SEPTA Route 92 |
| Website | helicoptermuseum.org |
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.