The MARVEL (Mississippi Aerophysics Research Vehicle with Extended Latitude) was a single-engined pusher monoplane fitted with a boundary layer control system.

[3] The resultant design was a shoulder-winged monoplane powered by a single Allison T63 turboprop engine driving a pusher ducted propeller.

The undercarriage, of the so-called "Pantobase" configuration, with tandem wheels fitted within two sprung wooden pontoons, was meant to allow operation from rough surfaces, or even from water.

[5] It successfully completed a 100-hour flying program for the US Army in 1969, where it demonstrated good STOL performance, taking off within 125 ft (38 m), and although the boundary layer control system was not as effective as hoped, it still provided a large amount of test data.

It was fitted with a more powerful (420 hp (313 kW)) engine and longer span (36 ft 10½ in (11.24 m) wings, first flying in this form as the Marvel II on August 17, 1982.