The Neiva N621 Universal is a Brazilian propeller-driven basic trainer and ground attack aircraft manufactured by

Indústria Aeronáutica Neiva Indústria Aeronáutica Neiva is a subsidiary of Embraer which produces airplanes and aircraft components. Its main product is the Embraer EMB 202 Ipanema, the most employed agricultural aircraft in Brazil and the first alcohol-powered airplane. ...

. It is a

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is unsupported at one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cantilev ...

, low-wing

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

of all-metal construction, with retractable undercarriage and side-by-side seating.

Design and development

The Universal was designed in 1963 by Joseph Kovács as a new primary trainer for the

Brazilian Air Force The Brazilian Air Force (, FAB) is the air branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces and one of the three national uniformed services. The FAB was formed when the Brazilian Brazilian Army Aviation (1919–1941), Army and Brazilian Naval Aviation, Nav ...

, as a replacement for the

T-6 Texan The North American Aviation T-6 Texan is an American single-engined advanced trainer aircraft, which was used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), United States Air Force (USAF), United States Navy, Royal Air Force, R ...

and

Fokker S-11 The Fokker S-11 Instructor is a single-engine two-seater propeller aircraft designed and manufactured by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. It first flew in December 1947 and went on production, serving in several Air Forces in the late 20t ...

/ S-12 types then in use. The

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototype ...

(Registration PP-ZTW) first flew on 29 April 1966. The Brazilian Air Force ordered 150 aircraft as the T-25 Universal, and increased this order in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

by an additional 28 aircraft. A further developed version (designated the YT-25B Universal II) first flew on 22 October 1978, but was not put into production. The Universal was also adopted as a counter-insurgency aircraft. It was later replaced by the Tucano in both the advanced training and attack roles, but it is still used as a primary and basic trainer at the Academia da Força Aérea Brasileira (Brazilian Air Force Academy). Ten aircraft were ordered by the

Chilean Army The Chilean Army () is the land arm of the Chilean Armed Forces. This 80,000-person army (9,200 of which are conscripts) is organized into six divisions, an army aviation brigade and a special operations brigade. In recent years, and after sever ...

. These aircraft were later transferred to the

Chilean Air Force The Chilean Air Force () is the air force of Chile and branch of the Chilean military. History The first step towards the current FACh is taken by Lieutenant Colonel, Teniente Coronel training as a pilot in France. Although a local academy was c ...

. In 1983 five FACh T-25s were donated to the Paraguayan Air Force. In 2005, the Brazilian Air Force donated six T-25s to the Fuerza Aérea Paraguaya and another six to the Fuerza Aérea Boliviana.

Operators

; *

Bolivian Air Force The Bolivian Air Force (BAF; or 'FAB') is the air force of Bolivia and branch of the Bolivian Armed Forces. History By 1938 the Bolivian air force consisted of about 60 aircraft ( Curtiss Hawk fighters, Curtiss T-32 Condor II and Junkers ...

; *

Paraguayan Air Force The Paraguayan Air Force () is a branch of the Armed Forces of Paraguay, in charge of the defense of Paraguay's skies. Its interim commander is Air Division General Julio Rubén Fullaondo Céspedes. Its headquarters are located in Ñu Guazu, Lu ...

Specifications (Universal)

Notes

References

* * *

External links

Brazilian Air Force's website with the description of the type (in Portuguese)
{{FAB aircraft designations

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company that is a subsidiary of Comcast ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of N ...

1960s Brazilian military trainer aircraft Low-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1966 Aircraft with retractable tricycle landing gear Single-engined piston aircraft