The Arrow Active is a single-seat biplane of conventional configuration, with single-bay, staggered wings of unequal span and chord, bordering on being a sesquiplane.
The second aircraft built featured a more powerful 120 hp (90 kW) de Havilland Gipsy III and was designated Active 2. It also differed from the Active 1 in having a strutted, conventional centre section, a slightly different shaped fin and rudder, and smaller, wider wheels.