This decision capitalized on the marketplace identification of the Yankee and its derivative the AA-1A Trainer and also resulted in 2/3 parts commonality between the designs, saving development time and production costs.

The new four-place aircraft, named the American Aviation AA-5 Traveler, was powered by a Lycoming O-320-E2G engine of 150 hp (110 kW).

A redesign of the AA-5 was undertaken in 1974, with the resulting 1975 model Traveler featuring an aerodynamic cleanup of the engine cowling and main landing gear fairings.

Grumman's engineers felt that the AA-5 design had more speed potential than the original Traveler, even with its 1975 improvements, and so embarked on an aerodynamic cleanup and redesign.

Changes were made to the engine cowling and baffling to reduce cooling drag, the exhaust system was redesigned, the main landing gear fairings were further improved, the ventral fin was eliminated, and the horizontal tail was enlarged to allow a larger center of gravity range.

The design has a strong following among pilots and aircraft owners and so, in 1999, a new company was formed to put the Tiger back into production.

[4] On August 2, 2007, the Federal Bankruptcy Court approved the sale of Tiger Aircraft assets to True Flight Holdings LLC.

Compared to competitive aircraft of the same era the AA-5s are noted for their light and pleasant handling characteristics as well as high cruising speed for the installed power.

As derivatives of the original AA-1 Yankee, the AA-5 series share the same unique bonded aluminum wing and honeycomb fuselage that eliminates the need for rivets without sacrificing strength.

Steering is by main wheel differential braking operated by using one's toes to push the tops of the rudder pedals.

In 2019, Garmin received a Supplemental Type Certificate for a full G3X Touch glass cockpit installation for the aircraft.