The aircraft was designed to be towed behind a car to allow it to be stored at home in a garage and thus reduce hangarage costs.
To facilitate this goal the aircraft had folding wings and a horizontal stabilizer of less than 8 foot (2.4 m) width.
[8][9][10][11] During the redesign process the aircraft was modified so that the wings did not fold, making it easier to achieve certification.
Other changes included a longer wing to improve rate of climb, an anti-servo tab on the elevator along with an elevator centering spring system to increase longitudinal stability and stall strips to improve the stall performance.
The resulting aircraft entered production in the fall of 1968 as the 1969 model American Aviation AA-1 Yankee Clipper.