The Gnome was built to test the performance and handling of a glider with a wing of short span, very low aspect ratio (6.18), and laminar flow aerofoil.
Forward of the spar the wing was ply covered around the leading edge, forming a torsion resisting D-box.
The steel fuselage frame defined a nonohedral cross section, not including the keel, which with its fabric covering approximated a blunt oval.
A straight edged, constant chord horizontal tail, the tailplane ply-skinned and the inset elevators fabric covered was mounted on the boom.
Its vertical tail extended both above and below the boom, overall forming an irregular pentagon, with the fin ply skinned and the rudder fabric covered.