Its low aspect ratio (5.1) wings are unswept and of constant chord, with blunt, rounded tips; they carry short, broad ailerons but no flaps.
The pilot's windscreen is just ahead of the wing leading edge but the side glazing of the single-seat cabin extends back to about two-thirds chord.
The cabin roof extends into raised rear fuselage decking, which drops away slowly to the tail.
The Donald has a tailskid undercarriage with main wheels mounted on split axles, hinged on a shallow V-strut attached to the fuselage underside.
The first prototype, with only 19 kW (25 hp) from its Volkswagen 1.1-litre air-cooled flat-four engine, first flew on 16 June 1953.