Instantly popular when it was first introduced in 1927, the Waco 10 was an open cockpit, three-place biplane of steel tube and fabric construction. It quickly accounted for more than 40 percent of the aircraft sold in that year with almost one per day rolling out the factory doors. The Waco 10 was initially powered by the cheap and plentiful 90 hp Curtiss OX-5 V-8 engine, but engines up to 300 hp were eventually mounted to the versatile airframe.