drove a three-bladed Hartzell propeller. The YT-25B prototype, a further modified version with six hard points, flew on 22 October 1978, but it did not meet requirements since the type was slower and smaller, and had side-by-side seats and a rear jump seat. Two years later, the company was acquired by Embraer. In 1973, designer Joseph Kovács moved from Neiva to Embraer, bringing with him a number of studies based on the Neiva Universal, including a development of the tandem-seat, turboprop Carajá. Responding to requirements In early 1977, Embraer forwarded two proposals for the Brazilian Air Force trainer requirement: the Lycoming TIO-541-powered EMB-301 basic trainer based on the Neiva Universal and the PT6A-powered EMB-311 counter-insurgency aircraft based on the Carajá. None of the proposals was acceptable to the Air Force, but interest was expressed in the higher-performance EMB-311. Later on that same year, the Ministry of Aeronautics (Ministério da Aeronáutica) released a new requirement. Therefore, in January 1978, Embraer's design team, which was led by Guido Fontegalante Pessotti and included Joseph Kovacs, commenced to redesign the EMB-311 to produce the EMB-312. On 6 December 1978, Embraer was officially awarded a contract to produce two prototypes and two airframes for fatigue tests. The specifications were concluded in February 1979, and the main differences from the EMB-311 were the more powerful PT6A-25C engine, raised rear cockpit, and the addition of ejection seats. Eventually, the original specifications underwent a major modification, including a smaller fuselage with an upright cruciform tail instead of a swept-back tail; a more domed canopy; extended elevators; greater distance between the nosewheel and back wheel; reduction of the wing root; and an increased wingspan, tailplane, and landing gear. By late 1979, a full-scale mock-up was built with a cockpit for the evaluation of flight instruments, and a subscale, radio-controlled research model was designed to evaluate the free-flight characteristics before building a full-scale prototype. Within 21 months of the contract having been signed, the first prototype took flight on 16 August 1980, bearing the FAB serial 1300. The second prototype flew for the first time on 10 December 1980, implementing system accessibility enhancements to trim down maintenance overheads. Weapons captive flight trials resulted in the addition of a fin fillet to improve lateral stability. In August 1982, the second prototype was lost during clearance trials, in which full rudder was applied when the type exceeded the maximum designed diving speed