The Fleet Model 1 and its derivatives were all orthodox biplanes with staggered, single-bay wings of equal span and fixed tailskid undercarriage.

The fuselage was made of welded steel tube with triangular-layout Warren truss construction pattern side structures typical of the time, and the wings had a wooden spar with duralumin ribs, the entire aircraft being fabric-covered.

Consolidated quickly responded by buying Fleet Aircraft and retaining it as a subsidiary while opening a second production line at Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada.

A small number of U.S.-built machines were purchased by the U.S. military, including a batch evaluated by the United States Army Air Corps as the PT-16 but not bought in quantity.

On July 6, 1930, future air racer and movie stunt pilot Paul Mantz flew a Fleet Model 2 biplane through 46 consecutive outside loops, an international record which stood for almost 50 years.