The ratio between length and wingspan was practically the same as that of an Avro Lancaster bomber, which had a wingspan of and a length of , in contrast to modern sport gliders which possess a particularly large wingspan to enhance gliding performance. This was the result of a decision taken by the War Office in early 1940 on how military gliders would be used; the idea was for the glider to be released at a low altitude close to the landing zone and conduct a steep descent to reduce time in the air and exposure to enemy fire. The glider also possessed large flaps which assisted in a steep and rapid descent, and through adjustments of their angle during landing a precise control over descent rate and point of landing could be achieved; they also allowed a slower touchdown speed to be attained. They were operated through a small bottle of compressed air large enough only for a single landing; a small bottle not only saved weight, but gave a smaller chance of it being hit by enemy fire, thereby exploding and damaging the glider. Standard approach speed for the Hamilcar was , although for shorter landings this could be slowed to , and stalling speeds were with flaps up or with flaps deployed. The Hamilcar was fitted with tailwheel landing gear, with oleo-pneumatic shock absorbers that could be deflated to bring the fuselage nose down for loading or unloading purposes. A jettisonable undercarriage was initially designed for the glider, as it was discovered that it travelled for a shorter distance when it landed only on its skids. However, this was eventually replaced with a fixed undercarriage – the same as had been designed for ferrying operations – as pilots found that they preferred to land on wheels because of the extra control it gave them and the ability to avoid other gliders and potential collisions in the landing area. The wheeled undercarriage was not fitted until after the glider had been loaded; two 15-ton jacks were used to lift the aircraft for the fitting.