AeroVironment

AeroVironment Inc. (AV) is a technology company in Monrovia, California, and Simi Valley, California, that is primarily involved in energy systems, electric vehicle systems, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Paul B. MacCready, Jr., a famous designer of human powered aircraft, founded the company in 1971. The company is probably most well-known for developing a series of lightweight human-powered and then solar-powered vehicles.

Vehicles developed

Among the vehicles the company built are:

• Gossamer Condor - The first successful human-powered airplane. The Gossamer Condor is on display at the National Air and Space Museum, since it won the first Kremer Prize in 1977.
• Gossamer Albatross - In 1979 this human-powered plane flew across the English Channel and claimed the largest prize in aviation history. Another of these planes is displayed at the National Air and Space Museum.
• Gossamer Penguin - A solar-powered variant of the Gossamer Albatross.
• Solar Challenger - This plane flew from Paris France to England on solar power.
• Pathfinder and Pathfinder Plus - This unmanned plane, built by AeroVironment as a part of the NASA ERAST Program, demonstrated that an airplane could stay aloft for an extended period of time fueled purely by solar power. After initial successes, the Pathfinder was rebuilt into the larger Pathfinder Plus, which is also on display at the National Air and Space Museum.
• Centurion - The Centurion was an......
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