The Celair Eagle 300 was a light aircraft with STOL capability[1] developed in South Africa in the late 1980s and early 1990s.[2] Only a single prototype was constructed.
The Eagle 300 was a strut-braced, high-wing monoplane of conventional design.[2] The pilot and up to five passengers sat in an enclosed cabin, but the passenger seats were removable to make room for cargo.[2] It had a conventional tail and was equipped with fixed, tailwheel undercarriage.[2] The portside, rear fuselage incorporated a large, upward hinging door for cargo loading.[2]
The central fuselage was built from a steel tube structure, and the wings had a single steel spar,[2] [3] but otherwise, the Eagle 300 was constructed largely of composite materials.[2] [3] [4] [5] A honeycomb of low-pressure/elevated-temperature (LPET) fibreglass and Nomex honeycomb was used throughout.[2]
Pieter Celliers' firm Celair was the South African distributor for Christen and Pitts.[6] In August 1987, Celliers engaged the South African government's Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to develop a 4-6 seat aircraft[3] [6] that was simple and rugged.[3] [5] [6]
Celliers wanted to use composite materials for construction, and developed a sailplane, the Celair GA-1, in parallel with the Eagle to validate construction methods.[3] [6] When the GA-1 proved successful, he began construction of the Eagle[6] at Celair's Roodewal factory near Ermelo.[3]
The prototype, registered ZS-WLD, made its first flight on 4 April 1990.[2] Shortly after this, Celliers displayed it at the Aviation Africa 90 trade show at Rand Airport.[6]
Celliers' plans for the Eagle were to obtain American FAR 23 and South African DCA certification[2] and to put it into production by 1992.[2] [4] [5]
By 1993, development had ceased and Celair was out of business.[7] In February 1993, the rights to the Eagle design were put up for sale.[3]