[2] The Cherokee was designed by Hall to provide homebuilders with an easy-to-construct and inexpensive aircraft that would give performance at least equal to the Schweizer SGS 1-26, which had flown two years earlier.

Some examples have been built with leading edges made from aluminium, cardboard, glass reinforced plastic and plywood and with many different styles of canopy.

[2] The first 300 km flight of a Cherokee II, for Gold Distance and Diamond Goal, was done by Ray Proenneke in April 1960.

The prototype Cherokee II was entered in the 1956 US National Championships at Grand Prairie, Texas, but was not allowed to compete as it had not flown the FAA-required 50 hours of flight test time within 25 miles (40 km) of its home airport.

[3] In 1959, two Cherokee IIs competed at the Canadian national contest, with Ross Grady placing second and a team of Jim Reid and Ken Lewandowski coming in third.

[9] Bud Brown flew several regional contests in the US midwest in the late 1960s, placing 7th, winning the handicap trophy, in the Wright Memorial Meet of 1967.