Who Are We
Miner Aviation, formerly known as Advanced Aero Vehicle Group, was founded in 1999 to design, build, and fly a task specific, RC, competitive aircraft. In 2007, the team had leftover composite materials and was inspired to make this into a new project. Thus, the rocketry side of AAVG was born. For almost 10 years, the team competed in both rocketry and plane competitions. The aircraft and rocket teams decided in 2016 to split into two individual organizations to better serve their respective members. Miner Aviation is now dedicated solely to the construction and development of RC aircraft.
For two decades, Miner Aviation has trained aerospace industry engineers through the use of our state-of-the-art facilities at the Student Design and Experiencial Learning Center (SDELC). Our members train on design and modelling with SolidWorks, parameter analysis with MatLAB, composite design and construction, rapid prototyping, OMAX cutting files, and so much more. We work to be the best of the best and 20 years after the birth of AAVG, Miner Aviation is going strong.
Celebrating 20 Years of Success!
Get Involved
Weekly meetings every Wednesday at 6:30 pm via Zoom.
Joining the Miner Aviation team is a great chance to explore aerospace engineering and design work. While the team is focused around aerospace engineering, other disciplines such as electrical and mechanical engineering can also be applied through individual subgroups. Anyone can join and contribute, regardless of major or previous experience. Each member must be on one subgroup but may join as many as they can handle.
In order to join the team, prospective members need to attend our weekly meetings. There you can speak with the Team President about officially joining the team and a subgroup.
Meet The Team Leaders
The Beginning of your Professional Experience Starts Here
Officers
PRESIDENT
CHANDLER CAIRATTI
VICE PRESIDENT
ALENI TSIKHLAKIS
"I thoroughly enjoy behind-the-scenes work for the design team; a lot of my job(s) involve work that many general members don't realize what I actually take care of. I love fundraising and being in charge of projects that help our team in the future. Seeing our team flourish makes me extremely proud of what our leadership accomplishes."
Chief Engineer
SAM WEILER
"I love working with our leads to design the best aircraft we can!"
Business Coordinator
ARNOLD NGUYEN
"In my position, I enjoy finding ways for this organization to thrive in resources so that our goals can take off."
Public Relations Coordinator
Zuzanna Kazmierczak
Shop Liaison
Luke Hellebusch
Webmaster
MASON PHILLIPS
"I love getting to utilize a skill that I have gained in the past with web design, while also getting my foot in the door to other positions as well. Being an officer is a great way to contribute and get a leadership experience!"
Technical Documentation
DOMINIC ZANTI
"I enjoy being able to work behind the scenes on the reports and proposals we write to make sure they look the best they can. It is satisfying submitting a document that you helped create."
Leads
Design and Manufacturing
JOEY RESSEL
Design and Manufacturing
MATIK HESKIN
Dynamic Systems
JACK MITCHELL
"I enjoy the fact that my subteam is brand new, so I get to build it how I see fit. I feel like I am making an impact on the team."
Structures
ELLIOT SUTALSKI
Propulsion
JOHNATHAN DAMS
"I enjoy having the opportunity to teach people how our propulsion system works while also helping the team make a plane for competition."
Aerodynamics and Stability/Control
BLAKE MCPHERSON
"I enjoy leading my subteam in developing a way to predict the optimal aerodynamic design to score the highest in the AIAA DBF competition and turn that into a feasible design that the rest of the subteams can work with. I like educating my subteam on the aerodynamic design process as well as stability & control criteria, and having a little fun along the way. "