The Advanced Aero Vehicle Group (AAVG) was formed in 1999 as a group of students looking to apply what they learned in the classroom to real-world situations. The students were interested in pushing the envelope of their knowledge of aircraft design to new heights and so began competing in the SAE Aero Design competition. In 2006, some members of the team went looking for a new challenge and discovered high power rocketry. The team built its first rocket as part of an informal competition against Iowa State University. AAVG proved their superior rocket ability by defeating ISU and successfully sending a rocket past 19,000 feet and breaking the sound barrier. As the Rocket Team became more successful, they split from AAVG in 2016 and the team reformed as The Miner Aviation Student Design Team (MAV) solidifying our focus on aircraft. Furthering change, the team switched to the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ Design Build Fly Competition (AIAA DBF) for the 2019 season. This new competition provided a more strenuous challenge with criteria that change every year. MAV pushes the limits of our capabilities to train the next generation of Aerospace Industry engineers.
