Gossamer Condor
“The Gossamer Condor team had these things in common: they loved to fly, tinker and weren’t acquainted with the word "quit."” - Anonymous team member
An Incredible Team
AeroVironment's 50th Anniversary is a testimonial to the skill, persistence and passion of our dedicated employees. We have been fortunate over the past 50+ years to employ the best professionals in our respective industries and enable them to transform their innovative visions into breakthrough solutions for our customers. Their passion, dedication and determination have been the key ingredients behind our success.
We invite you to explore a few memories over the years that have helped to write our page in history.
Odyssey
“Odyssey became the first airplane to fly on liquid hydrogen in 2005. Our learning and experience with LH2 on this project proved very valuable for transitioning it to a larger scale on Global Observer.” - Bill Parks
Pathfinder
“In 1996, an AeroVironment team showcased a Pathfinder at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in conjunction with the center’s 40th anniversary. It was an honor and privilege to meet Neil Armstrong.” - Kirk Flittie
Pathfinder
“On Sept. 11, 1995, Pathfinder flew to a peak altitude of 50,500 ft. for 10+ hours marking the first high-altitude flight of a solar airplane. Our experience with the extreme cold weather of the stratosphere gave us insight on how to cope in this environment for future flights.” - Bill Parks
Pointer Delivery
“The USMC delivery and receipt of the TQM flag from JPO UAV 1991. FQM-151 Pointer. First significant delivery. ” - Scott Newbern
Pointer Autonav
“Pointer Autonav set the stage for AeroVironment’s successful small UAS product line. The development team ingeniously worked through GPS autonomous navigation and other capabilities to successfully demonstrate to the customer that the aircraft was ready for use on the battlefield.” - Bill Parks
Early Wasp Prototype
“In 2003, an AeroVironment team took an early Wasp prototype to the Middle East for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance mission trials, marking the first time in a combat zone with this aircraft.” - Matt Keennon
Pathfinder Raven
“The advancements in batteries, electronic propulsion and electronic sensors enabled us to create an aircraft half the size of what the soldier had been using. The result was Pathfinder Raven, and the key to its success was customer collaboration. We were working hand-in-hand and side-by-side with operators and literally sleeping in the dirt with them on exercises to evaluate our systems.” - Scott Newbern
Pointer
“AeroVironment Pointer system deliveries under the MOUNT ACTD.”
Mars Helicopter
“AeroVironment has accumulated a lot of know-how designing and building high-performance unmanned systems throughout the years, and we leaned on experience from projects like the Nano Hummingbird and HALE (high-altitude, long-endurance) programs to make the Mars helicopter successful. Our team had expertise in ultralight aircraft design and fabrication, but we’re also used to fast-paced iterative design cycles, which was critical in the early stages of the program.” - Ben Pipenberg