The first autogyros, while relying on the rotor for lift, were controlled in flight with ailerons, elevators and rudders like conventional fixed wing aircraft.

It was connected via a clutch to the nose-mounted, 85 hp (63 kW) Pobjoy Cataract engine to spin it up, with rotor blades latched at a low angle of incidence, then unlatched for take-off.

[1][2] Behind the engine the fuselage of the PA-22 was conventional, with two side-by-side seats in a flat-sided cabin with generous glazing including windows for both upward and downward views.

In the early stages of this much-modified airframe, the fins carried rudders as a precaution but experience of direct control allowed their removal.

Its design was similar to that of many fixed wing and autogyro aircraft, with the axles and their rearward drag struts mounted on the central fuselage underside.