Oleg Antonov had designed sailplanes since the early 1930s, most memorably the Red Front 7 which, flown by Olga Klepikova, set a world distance record of 749 km (466 mi) that stood from 1939 to 1951.
In plan, the wing had a short, constant chord centre section and long, straight tapered outer panels, with a sweep on both edges, terminating in rounded and downward-curled wingtips.
The wing section was slightly reflexed towards the rear and thick, with maximum depth far forward at only about 20% chord, making the profile steep-nosed.
[2] The ply-covered fuselage of the A-9 was oval in cross-section, deep ahead of the wings and almost circular to the rear, giving it a pod-and-boom appearance.
The upper fuselage line was almost flat, even over the rear part of the long, two piece canopy, though its windscreen curved down sharply into the nose.