MAV

Design and Fabrication Research

We are actively designing experimental MAV and small UAV flight platforms and optimizing our fabrication techniques of these aircraft. In the past, the fabrication of the mavs has been focused on the capability to rapidly produce new designs to meet the group's ever changing demands for increasingly smaller airframes. The airplanes thus far have been human piloted and considerations such as consistent mass and stiffness characteristics have been a concern only with regard to crash survivability and minimization of flying weight. Now that the mav is being guided by an autopilot based on a hand tuned PID type controller, the chief concern of the mav fabrication group is to supply a steady supply of highly similar airplanes.

Current Platforms

-AVCAAF
The AVCAAF mav is constructed primarily of carbon fiber. Both the carbon mat used in the monolithic fuselage construction and the unidirectional carbon tow utilized in the wing are prepreg cured under vacuum in an oven.

-PocketMAV
The PocketMAV has a 16-inch wingspan. Its foldable wings allow it to be stored in a 8-inch x 4-inch container.

Active Reseach

-Small UAV Technologies
These airframes have wingspans larger than 24-inches.

-Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) Technologies
These airframes have wingspans less than 24-inches.

-Nano Air Vehicle (NAV) Technologies
These airframes have wingspans less than 6-inches.

Construction Pictures