The Otto replica in the workshops.

At Oberschleissheim airfield, just north of Munich, a six-man team from the Deutsches Museum is forging ahead with construction of a replica Otto pusher biplane, a type originally built at the airfield in 1913. It is hoped that the machine will be flying in time for the airfield’s centenary celebrations in 2012, an occasion which will also mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Royal Bavarian Flying Corps (RBFC) on the site. The RBFC was equipped with Otto pusher biplanes.

Differences from the original Otto include replacement of the ash forward fuselage frame with a steel tube structure, and the substitution of the heavy 8lit Daimler motor with an 1800cc four-cylinder BMW engine.

The engine’s fuel injection unit has been replaced with two Weber carburettors, delivering 118 h.p.

The founder of the Gustav Otto Flugmaschinenfabrik works, Gustav Otto, was the son of Nicolaus Otto, whose company, N.A. Otto Cie, built the first four-stroke engine in 1876. Gustav gained his pilot’s licence on an Aviatik in 1910, and went on to found several aircraft companies. He also operated a flying school, at which Ernst Udet, who went on to become the second highest-scoring German ace during WW1, earned his licence after private training with Gustav.