CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Oct. 26, 2019	Oct. 27, 2018	Oct. 26, 2019	Oct. 27, 2018
Revenue:
Total revenue	$ 83,271	$ 72,979	$ 170,182	$ 151,022
Cost of sales:
Cost of sales	48,105	44,580	93,744	90,034
Gross margin:
Total gross margin	35,166	28,399	76,438	60,988
Operating Expenses [Abstract]
Selling, general and administrative	16,255	13,646	29,923	25,602
Research and development	10,858	8,109	19,567	14,544
Income from continuing operations	8,053	6,644	26,948	20,842
Other income:
Interest income, net	1,266	1,068	2,595	1,974
Other income, net	157	1,291	512	9,679
Income from continuing operations before income taxes	9,476	9,003	30,055	32,495
Provision for income taxes	1,108	1,211	3,241	3,778
Equity method investment loss, net of tax	(863)	(752)	(2,210)	(1,354)
Net income from continuing operations	7,505	7,040	24,604	27,363
Discontinued operations:
(Loss) gain on sale of business, net of tax (benefit) expense of $(114) and $2,463 for the three and six months ended October 27, 2018, respectively		(391)		8,452
Loss from discontinued operations, net of tax		(599)		(2,449)
Net (loss) income from discontinued operations		(990)		6,003
Net income	7,505	6,050	24,604	33,366
Net (income) loss attributable to noncontrolling interest	(4)	7	7	21
Net income attributable to AeroVironment	$ 7,501	$ 6,057	$ 24,611	$ 33,387
Net income per share attributable to AeroVironment-Basic
Basic, continuing (in dollars per share)	$ 0.32	$ 0.30	$ 1.04	$ 1.16
Basic, discontinuing (in dollars per share)		(0.04)		0.25
Net income per share attributable to AeroVironment - Basic (in dollars per share)	0.32	0.26	1.04	1.41
Net income per share attributable to AeroVironment-Diluted
Diluted, continuing (in dollars per share)	0.31	0.29	1.02	1.14
Diluted, discontinued (in dollars per share)		(0.04)		0.25
Net income per share attributable to AeroVironment - Diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 0.31	$ 0.25	$ 1.02	$ 1.39
Weighted average shares outstanding:
Basic (in shares)	23,804,364	23,667,400	23,775,355	23,621,720
Diluted (in shares)	24,061,810	24,098,833	24,063,775	24,059,394
Product sales
Revenue:
Revenue	$ 57,386	$ 47,056	$ 123,225	$ 102,369
Cost of sales:
Cost of sales	30,802	26,567	61,210	56,378
Gross margin:
Total gross margin	26,584	20,489	62,015	45,991
Contract services
Revenue:
Revenue	25,885	25,923	46,957	48,653
Cost of sales:
Cost of sales	17,303	18,013	32,534	33,656
Gross margin:
Total gross margin	$ 8,582	$ 7,910	$ 14,423	$ 14,997