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.

Design

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]

Development

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]

Specifications

Data from Lambert, Munson & Taylor 1992, p.263

General characteristics

• Crew: 1 pilot
• Capacity: 5 passengers
• Length: 7.90 m (25 ft 11 in)
• Wingspan: 11.20 m (36 ft 9 in)
• Height: 2.50 m (8 ft 2 in)
• Wing area: 16.20 m² (174.4 sq ft)
• Empty weight: 900 kg (1,984 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 1,750 kg (3,858 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Textron Lycoming IO-540-K six-cylinder, horizontally-opposed, air-cooled piston engine, 220 kW (300 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 300 km/h (190 mph, 160 kn) at speed level
• Cruise speed: 259 km/h (161 mph, 140 kn) at sea level
• Range: 1,090 km (680 mi, 590 nmi) with 15% reserves
• Rate of climb: 6.75 m/s (1,329 ft/min)

Notes

References

Bibliography

• "Airscene Headlines". Air International. Vol. 52, no. 8. Stamford, Lincolnshire: Key Publishing. February 1993. pp. 58–64.
• Becker, Dave (August 1990). "The Celair Eagle 300". Air Pictorial. Vol. 52, no. 8. Ascot, Berkshire: Profile Books. p. 288.
• "Celair starts Eagle test program". Flight International. Surrey: Reed Business Publishing. 11–13 June 1990. p. 20.
• "Flugerprobung" [Flight testing]. Flug Revue. No. 8. Stuttgart: Motor Press. 1990. p. 21.
• Lambert, Mark; Munson, Kenneth; Taylor, Michael J.H., eds. (1992). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1992-93 (83rd ed.). Coulson, Surrey, UK: Jane's Information Group.
• Taylor, Michael J. H. (1993). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions.
• Taylor, Michael J.H.; Lambert, Mark; Munson, Kenneth, eds. (1993). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1993-94 (84th ed.). Coulson, Surrey, UK: Jane's Information Group.