"Modelers are used to problem-solving."

After spending an hour or so with Paul, he introduced me to two of his staff members who are developing the microlight aircraft. Matt Keennon, who has been with AeroVironment since 1996, is the guru of the microlight department.

Matt got his early inspiration and training from Bill Warner, a public-school teacher who taught a modeling course as an elective. The class built a series of standard models (a hand-launched glider and a rubber-powered model with a stick fuselage), enabling students to understand how selected variables affect flight. He would remove the dihedral and parts of the empennage, and ask the students to correct problems he created.

Since earning a physics degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, Matt has developed many of the small-scale aircraft for AeroVironment. He pointed out:

"Micro-stuff is suddenly hot! As flying fields become problematic, park flyers and indoor 'RC' is becoming very popular. The quality of the technology is improving and people can buy great equipment right off the shelf. Paul hires the best modelers and engineers from around the world, and I am lucky to be working with such a great group of people."

Matt also noted that a great deal of internal mentoring takes place at AeroVironment. "If you want to learn electronics, you have an opportunity to pursue electronics and to be mentored by experts along the way," he said.

One of these mentors is Martyn Cowley, who has been with AeroVironment since 1980. Martyn met Paul in England during his development of the Gossamer Albatross for the flight over the English Channel. A native of Great Britain, Martyn followed Paul to the US and has been with AeroVironment ever since.

"Kids need to be able to fly within walking distance, and sometimes it is illegal even to fly in a public park! 
 

Martyn started his modeling career as a Free Flighter (winning many UK and US national titles in the process), and he began working with Paul at AeroVironment because of the unique challenges presented in human-powered flight. As do so many others, Martyn laments the difficulty that young people currently have in pursuing the hobby and sport of model aviation. He said:

"Kids need to be able to fly within walking distance, and sometimes it is illegal even to fly in a public park! Kids today have far too many distractions; they need to be able to fly models locally, as opposed to traveling to a remote flying site. They can experiment to find out what works and what doesn't, and they can learn from their peers."

Martyn frequently uses models as proof-of-concept design tools before moving on to full scale. "If it works at a small scale level, it works even better when you scale it up," he said. He also believes the process modelers go through to complete a project makes them an "Aircraft Factory of One," as he calls it. He went on to say:

"Modelers are used to problem-solving. You learn how to solve problems when things are not working. Modelers routinely go through several steps in this process: design, drafting, structural engineering, planning for cost-control, building, serving as a test pilot, and performing the routines of maintenance. All of these steps are great training for program-management work on any full-scale project."

As the world prepares to celebrate the centennial of the Wright brothers' flight later this year, people such as Paul MacCready, Matt Keennon, Martyn Cowley, and their colleagues continue in the tradition the Wright brothers began in Dayton, Ohio, a century ago. They use models as prototypes to push the aeronautical envelope in ways that may not seem to have any practical value initially.

However, as Benjamin Franklin remarked when asked what the use of a balloon was in the early 1780s, "What is the use of a newborn infant?"
The Wright brothers' spirit continues to this day and will be a source of the country's strength as we face the challenges of a new millennium. Certainly, "doing more with much less" will become more than the motto of AeroVironment as the world is forced to learn how to use technology more efficiently.

Gordon Schimmel
62 Charles Ln.
Storrs CT 06268

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