The mould for the fuselage is 3d printed to allow for quick and cost effective manufacturing allowing us to rapidly test different configurations.

Carbon fibre is laid over the 3d printed mould to form the part.

The finished fuselage is a light weight carbon fibre construction with an internal structure to provide the required compression resistance. 

The autonomous transition flight is AAVa’s most important feature as it allows for the flight time and range to be significantly higher than other VTOL aircraft. SMD has achieved this proving the ability to transition into forward flight from a vertical take off and then transitioning back out allowing for a landing without runways. 

With the wings installed into the fuselage AAVa is finished and the flight control systems are able to provide stable flight.