ICAR Universal

ICAR (Întreprinderea de Construcţii Aeronautice Româneşti) · Romania · first flew 1934 · light aircraft

The ICAR Universal was a Romanian two-seat light training and aerobatic monoplane built from 1934, one of the earliest indigenous Romanian aircraft designs to reach series production. It was offered in trainer and aerobatic variants with different engine installations.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Low-mounted, straight
E — Engines	1 × piston, nose-mounted
F — Fuselage	Open tandem cockpits on a wooden semi-monocoque fuselage
T — Tail	Conventional

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

Romanian low-wing cantilever monoplane with rounded wingtips
Open tandem cockpits on a wooden semi-monocoque fuselage
Siemens or IAR radial/inline engine options depending on variant

A clean low-wing monoplane with rounded wingtips and open tandem cockpits; Romanian military markings and the Siemens-Halske radial cowling (on aerobatic variants) are key identifiers.

Specifications

The ICAR Universal has a length of 6.9 m (23 ft).
It has a wingspan of 11.9 m (39 ft).
Its maximum speed is 180 km/h (112 mph).
Typical crew: 2.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

Developed at the state-owned ICAR factory in Bucharest, the Universal filled a requirement for an economical two-seat trainer. The aerobatic variant featured wheel spats and a higher-powered engine, while the standard trainer was a simpler, fixed-tailskid aircraft. The design successfully competed against imported types.

Variants

Standard trainer (IAR 4GI inline engine) and Universal Acrobatic (Siemens Sh 14 radial, wider-span wing at 12.9 m) variants were produced.

Where you'll see it

Used by Romanian flying clubs and the Romanian Air Force for elementary training in the late 1930s.

Related aircraft

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