Glavni načrtovalec GAL.48 je bil F.F. Crocombe. Dizajn je deloma podoben DFS 230. Hotspur Mark I je bil večinoma grajen iz lesa. Razpon kril je bil 18,9 metra, dolžina pa 11,98 metra. Tovor je bil okrog 850 kilogramov.
Predlagana je bil tudi večja verzija GAL.48B "Twin Hotspur", zgradili so samo prototip.
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