[1][2] Little changed from its predecessor, the Wiley Post Model A is an unequal span, single bay biplane with significant stagger.

Its two-spar wings are rectangular in plan apart from blunted tips and are built from spruce and mahogany plywood with aircraft fabric covering.

Outward-leaning struts from the fuselage support the upper wing, which has a narrow trailing edge cut-out to improve the pilot's upward field of view.

Its engine is a Straughn 1000, an adaptation of the 40 hp (30 kW) unit used in the Ford A car with its radiator under the upper wing centre-section.

Vertical landing legs, with rubber cord shock absorbers, and their drag struts are mounted on the lower fuselage longerons.