CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Apr. 30, 2018	Jan. 27, 2018	Oct. 28, 2017	Jul. 29, 2017	Apr. 30, 2017	Jan. 28, 2017	Oct. 29, 2016	Jul. 30, 2016	Apr. 30, 2019	Apr. 30, 2018	Apr. 30, 2017	Apr. 30, 2015
Revenue:
Revenue	$ 87,930	$ 75,322	$ 72,979	$ 78,043	$ 113,629	$ 54,633	$ 65,801	$ 34,361	$ 314,274	$ 268,424	$ 233,105
Cost of sales:
Cost of sales									185,871	160,739	136,232
Gross margin:
Total gross margin	$ 37,023	$ 30,392	$ 28,399	32,589	$ 50,594	$ 18,250	$ 30,143	$ 8,698	128,403	107,685	96,873
Operating Expenses [Abstract]
Selling, general and administrative									60,343	50,826	47,642
Research and development									34,234	26,433	28,465
Income from continuing operations									33,826	30,426	20,766
Other income:
Interest income, net									4,672	2,240	1,618
Other income (expense), net									11,980	(49)	172
Income from continuing operations before income taxes				32,617					50,478	32,617	22,556
Provision for income taxes									4,641	9,800	4,758
Equity method investment loss, net of tax				$ (1,283)					(3,944)	(1,283)	(119)
Net income from continuing operations									41,893	21,534	17,679
Discontinued operations:
Gain on sale of business, net of tax expense of $2,444 for the year ended April 30, 2019									8,490
Loss from discontinued operations, net of tax									(2,964)	(3,887)	(4,601)
Net income (loss) from discontinued operations									5,526	(3,887)	(4,601)
Net income									47,419	17,647	13,078	$ 13,078
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest									19	216	22
Net income attributable to AeroVironment									$ 47,438	$ 17,863	$ 13,100
Net income (loss) per share attributable to AeroVironment—Basic
Basic, continuing (in dollars per share)	$ 0.26	$ 0.35	$ 0.30	$ 0.86	$ 0.80	$ (0.02)	$ 0.33	$ (0.19)	$ 1.77	$ 0.93	$ 0.77
Basic, discontinuing (in dollars per share)									0.23	(0.17)	(0.20)
Net income per share attributable to AeroVironment - Basic (in dollars per share)									2.00	0.76	0.57
Net income (loss) per share attributable to AeroVironment—Diluted
Diluted, continuing (in dollars per share)	$ 0.26	$ 0.35	$ 0.29	$ 0.85	$ 0.79	$ (0.02)	$ 0.32	$ (0.19)	1.74	0.91	0.76
Diluted, discontinued (in dollars per share)									0.23	(0.16)	(0.20)
Net income per share attributable to AeroVironment - Diluted (in dollars per share)									$ 1.97	$ 0.75	$ 0.56
Weighted average shares outstanding:
Basic (in shares)									23,663,410	23,471,241	23,059,045
Diluted (in shares)									24,071,713	23,813,772	23,307,738
Product sales
Revenue:
Revenue									$ 212,089	$ 191,712	$ 158,924
Cost of sales:
Cost of sales									113,489	109,393	89,039
Gross margin:
Total gross margin									98,600	82,319	69,885
Contract services
Revenue:
Revenue									102,185	76,712	74,181
Cost of sales:
Cost of sales									72,382	51,346	47,193
Gross margin:
Total gross margin									$ 29,803	$ 25,366	$ 26,988