AeroVironment gets more work on tiny aircraft

MONROVIA, Jul 02, 2009 (San Gabriel Valley Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- AVAV | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- A local company's bird is still flying.

The Department of Defense has extended Monrovia-based AeroVironment Inc.'s contract to design and build a prototype for the government's Nano Air Vehicle program, the firm announced Wednesday.

That prototype is essentially a small mechanical bird -- at least in its early incarnation. And it has AeroVironment flying into a new realm of ideas, testing its creative, scientific and artistic problem- solving skills, officials said.

"That's the intent ... to create an unmanned aerial vehicle that's very, very small and is very light and employs biological mimicry," said Steven Gitlin, the firm's director of marketing strategy and investor relations.

A model of the advanced version on AeroVironment's Web site looks much like a hummingbird.

As part of the government's first phase of the program, AeroVironment created the Mercury test vehicle -- a lightweight, self-fueled craft that uses two flapping wings for propulsion and control.

Development hasn't come easy. To do it, the firm's research and development team has had to develop a machine to be used for military reconnaissance in urban, outdoor and indoor environments.

"From the first day of the Phase I effort, we knew that our biggest challenge would be to develop a viable propulsion system, followed by the extreme challenge of creating a control system for such a complex operation at such a small scale," Matt Keennon,

AV's project manager and principal investigator on the project, said in a statement.

But in December, the work paid off. The Mercury made a successful 20-second flight -- a technical milestone for the company, officials said.

That was the first phase.

Company officials are hoping the second phase will be just as successful.

Keennon said the $2.1 million contract extension will focus on flying longer and establishing the craft's ability to transition from hovering to flying forward and backward. R&D team members will also focus on reducing the craft's size, weight and sound.

The Defense Advanced Research Project -- the Defense Department's research and development arm -- aims to develop a 10-gram aircraft that can hover, fly at up to 10 meters per second and withstand wind gusts.

"The Nano Air Vehicle program will push the limits of aerodynamic and power conversion efficiency, endurance and maneuverability for very small, flapping-wing air-vehicle systems," Todd Hylton, the government's program manager, said in a statement.

Although the contract extension ends in 2010, there is no timeline for going into sales production, Gitlin said.

But pushing the limits of the technology could also help AeroVironment come up with new technologies for other parts of its business, which include other unmanned aerial and electric energy systems, Gitlin said.

ryan.carter@sgvn.com

(626) 962-8811, ext. 2720

To see more of the San Gabriel Valley Tribune or to subscribe to the newspaper,
go to http://www.sgvtribune.com. Copyright (c) 2009, San Gabriel Valley Tribune,
West Covina, Calif. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For
reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or
847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group
Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

More News:   Market Updates | Stock Alerts | All Trading News | Stock Index