The Aeronca C-3 was a light plane built by the Aeronautical Corporation of America in the United States during the 1930s.

Powered by a new 36 hp (27 kW) Aeronca E-113 engine, the seating configuration made flight training much easier and many Aeronca owners often took to the skies with only five hours of instruction, largely because of the C-3's predictable flying characteristics.

It featured an enclosed cabin with a proper door (brakes and wing light still cost extra), and a revised undercarriage dispensing with external struts in favour of a neater arrangement largely hidden in the fuselage.

A strengthened version of the C-3 with fabric-covered ailerons (instead of metal), designated the Aeronca 100, was built in England under license by Light Aircraft Ltd. (operating as Aeronautical Corporation of Great Britain Ltd. sometimes called Aeronco), and marketed by its associated company Aircraft Exchange & Mart.

Fortunately for the legion of Aeronca owners, a “grandfather” clause in the federal regulations allowed their airplanes to continue flying, although they could no longer be manufactured.