Aerovironment Inc

A 247-foot experimental flying wing developed by Monrovia-based AeroVironment Inc. and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is scheduled to make the first of several flights this week in the latest attempt to reach a record altitude of 100,000 feet. The unmanned Helios aircraft--an ultralight plane covered in thin plastic film and weighing about 1,600 pounds--will attempt to reach the record height using power generated from the sun.

Powered by 14 electric motors not much stronger than hair dryers, a massive flying wing made mostly of plastic wrap will attempt next month to go where no airplane has gone before. Although it will take about eight hours to get there, lumbering at a maximum speed of 25 mph, the Helios solar plane is expected to shatter altitude records and help scientists understand how to fly on Mars. It could ultimately usher in a new era in satellite telecommunications. Developed by AeroVironment Inc.

AeroVironment Inc., birthplace of the famed Gossamer Albatross human-powered airplane--has spent years developing a solar-powered aircraft so light and efficient that it could stay aloft for six months. The Helios, as the solar plane is called, would circle slowly at altitudes up to 100,000 feet above cities, relaying ultra-fast Internet, television and telephone signals directly to homes, like a miniature satellite. Its power would come from solar cells mounted on the wings.

Charging an electric vehicle might one day become nearly as easy as filling up at the corner gas station, but it may also be more expensive. That's the gist of an announcement Thursday by Monrovia-based Aerovironment and Ford Motor Co. that they plan to commercialize a fast-charge system that can re-energize a battery pack in 20 minutes or less. It now takes six to eight hours to recharge a nearly depleted battery.

Small, inventive technology companies are so much the heroes of Southern California industry that we sometimes forget that a time comes when a business has to grow. If it doesn't get bigger and richer, it gets left behind, no matter how inventive it is. Childhood's end is a challenge that Aerovironment Inc., a Monrovia-based research company, is facing right now.

Trying to end a controversy that refuses to go away, Los Angeles officials Monday touted a battery-powered leaf blower prototype as a potential solution for gardeners who have struggled with the city's ban on gasoline-powered blowers. The electric device designed by AeroVironment Inc. of Monrovia has yet to be field-tested, but Department of Water and Power officials say it could serve as a substitute for gardeners in need of power tools.

COMPETITION FOR THE EYE OF CAR-SAVVY CALIFORNIANS WAS INTENSE THAT JANUARY WEEKEND in 1990. Amid the flashing neon and leggy models at the Los Angeles Auto Show, all the world's manufacturers had paraded out a stream of futuristic concept cars. * There was a snazzy Porsche fastback powered by a gutsy 250-horsepower engine. A speedster with wet-suit upholstery that could be hosed out after a trip to the beach. A topless beach car with a radio that doubled as a portable boombox.

It sounds a bit quixotic, but a Danish consortium wants to make San Pedro the site of a pilot windmill program to demonstrate the advances in wind technology that is widely accepted in much of Europe. And if the sleek 1990s windmills perform up to expectation, energy officials say the project could breathe new life into the sagging wind energy industry in the United States.