While Miles intended to produce the Aerovan for the British Army as a wartime asset, development was put on hold by order of the Air Ministry until the end of the conflict.

Beyond its military applications, the coming post-war era would see civilian operators that would need large numbers of economic short range transports and small freighters.

[5] A high-wing configuration selected for the aircraft, being fitted with external aerofoil flaps and powered by a pair of Blackburn Cirrus Major piston engines.

[7] The results of the initial trials were submitted to the Air Ministry as the company prepared to put the Aerovan into immediate production to support the war effort.

[8] While there was immediate demand for the type amongst civilian customers, Miles were not able to keep up with the rate of orders incoming, an outcome which aviation author Don Brown attributed to the Air Ministry's decision to place the project on hold.

[8] Quantity production of the Aerovan properly commenced during 1946; the majority of aircraft sold were to civilian operators, both domestic and overseas, although some military customers, including Israel and New Zealand, also emerged for the type.

A single Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) aircraft was converted for aerial fertiliser spreading, while a second for aeromagnetic survey work, although it proved to be unsuccessful.

[11] The prototype, which was retroactively designated the Mark 1, was later fitted with a 5/6th scale replica of the Armstrong Siddeley Mamba turboprop nacelle for the Miles Marathon; it was also subsequently outfitted with ailerons in line with the standard flaps.

It had a fixed tricycle undercarriage, three vertical tail and rudder units, one central and two as tailplane endplates, the configuration being generally reminiscent of the Miles Messenger.

[5] A pair of pilots were accommodated within a large clear perspex canopy which formed the front dorsal part of the pod, while the pod-shaped fuselage was lined with four or five circular windows on either side for use by passengers.

[13] The Aerovan's lifting capabilities were such that payloads could weigh up to one tonne, along with sufficient volume to enable the carriage of a typical family car, which could be loaded through the clamshell doors set to the rear.

Meridian Air Maps operated Aerovan 4 G-AISF on aerial survey work from October 1955 until it crashed on takeoff from Manchester (Ringway) on 29 April 1957.