In designing the Mini-Nimbus, Klaus Holighaus incorporated the flapped wings from the Glasflügel 303 Mosquito, with the fuselage of the Standard Cirrus.

[1] The Mini Nimbus range all feature self-connecting controls, of Glasflügel design, for added safety and ease of rigging, and have been incorporated in all newer Schempp-Hirth models.

Based on the Standard Cirrus, the original Mini-Nimbus HS-7 design had an all-moving tailplane and fibre glass wing spars.

A tailplane anti-balance tab was a required modification for certification in the United Kingdom after flight testing by Derek Piggott on behalf of the British Gliding Association revealed very low stick forces and marginal pitch stability of the HS-7 version.

The use of carbon-fibre significantly lightened the Mini Nimbus improving its climbing performance and increasing water ballast capacity while making assembly and disassembly much easier.