The new four-place aircraft, named the American Aviation AA-5 Traveler, was powered by a Lycoming O-320-E2G engine of 150 hp (110 kW). It would carry four people at 121 knots (224 km/h) cruise speed and was certified under US FAR Part 23.

Production of the Traveler had just started in 1971 when American Aviation was sold to Grumman and became the Grumman American division. Grumman continued production of the Traveler. 834 Travelers had been produced when production of this model ceased in 1975.

A redesign of the AA-5 was undertaken in 1974 and as a result the 1975 model Traveler featured an aerodynamic cleanup of the engine cowling and main landing gear fairings. The tail section remained unchanged. As a result of these changes the 1975 Traveler had a cruise speed of 127 knots (235 km/h). The Traveler was superseded in production the following year by the further refined AA-5A Cheetah.