Rotor tech startup wins Sikorsky challenge

The aerospace division of an Austrian engine developer and manufacturer won an inaugural entrepreneurial challenge sponsored by Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., and will take up residence at the Stamford Innovation Center that houses a Sikorsky incubator.

Pankl Aerospace Innovations, a subsidiary of Pankl Racing Systems AG, will work on newfangled rotor blades, getting a year”™s free rent in Stamford as part of the award in addition to a possible equity investment from Sikorsky down the road. The startup’s technology originated at a Pankl Racing Systems subsidiary in Cerritos, Calif.

Stratford-based Sikorsky also will work Ontario-based Smart Rotor Systems Inc. and with a Stamford designer named Drew Lambert.