[1][2][3] The Woodhopper was a development of the highly successful Weedhopper, substituting wood for aluminum tubing wherever possible and simplifying the design to reduce cost.
Both aircraft pre-dated the US FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles rules, but comply with them, including the category's maximum empty weight of 254 lb (115 kg).
The pilot cage, landing gear and kingpost are made from aluminum tubing, while the main fuselage keel, wings and tail surfaces are all wooden structures.
Its 32 ft (9.8 m) span wing is cable-braced from the single, tube-style kingpost and the whole airframe is liberally supported with a large number of steel cables.
[1] The Woodhopper was featured on the cover of Popular Mechanics in 1978, and as a result a large number of plans were sold and many aircraft were completed and flown.