Hardware-In-Loop-Simulator (HILS) is an important step in system design & development. In the present work a systematic approach has been adopted in creating the HILS for autonomous navigation of a Mini Aerial Vehicle (MAV). The issues addressed in this paper are 1. real time simulation of flight dynamics, 2. modeling of sensors, 3. integration of ADC and DAC interfaces under RTLinux, 4. GPS data simulator. An on-board computer and the actuators are the actual hardware in the simulation loop. The HILS is generic in nature and it can easily be adapted for any other on-board computer. This simulator will help in 1. design of navigation, guidance and control law, 2. testing the NGC laws in real time, 3. design and development of various interfaces e.g. GPS interface, filters etc. 4. identifying various faults in the system. Using the present HILS, on-board computer can be directly ported to MAV, without any modification in hardware and software.

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