The Cranwell CLA.3 was a parasol winged single-engined, single-seat British aircraft built to compete in the Lympne air races of 1925.

The students came from No.4 Apprentices Wing and one of their lecturers, Flt-Lt Nicholas Comper became chief designer of the three aircraft produced by the club as well as one, the CLA.1 that was not completed.

[2] The wings were built on two I-section spruce spars and fabric covered everywhere apart from at the leading edge, where thin aluminium was used.

[2] The 32 hp (24 kW) Bristol Cherub II engine was mounted on a plate with a fireproof bulkhead, within a long, smooth aluminium cowling blended into the spinner of the two-bladed propeller.

A rounded decking, built up with stringers in the usual way, topped the fuselage from propeller to stern and contained the 4.5 imp gal tank immediately in front of the cockpit, high enough above the engine to allow it to be gravity fed.

The undercarriage was a simple single axle design using rubber shock absorbers, with the main legs attached to the lower longerons at the same points as the lift struts and braced to the most forward fuselage frame.

[6] There was also a series of competitions to establish records in the light aeroplane Class, defined by the RAC as those with an engine weight of less than 170 lb (77 kg).