The designer


This engine conversion was designed, constructed and tested by the Engineering Office of Otto Funk, who fitted it into an FK9 Mk2 for his aviation school. This pioneering achievement had been preceded by a lengthy design and planning phase, many parts had had to be redesigned, manufactured or modified, from the casting mold for the propeller gear unit housing to the adjustment and adaptation of the motor electronics.

Not only did Daimler Chrysler provide the essential service of supplying these motors for this application, it also contributed its far-reaching support in many other ways. The greatest problem was to adapt the engine control unit. Without the assistance of Mercedes and Smart the whole project would have failed because a new ECU would have been to expensive.

Subsequent to comprehensive testing in the training FK9 of the EFK Speyer with over 1400 flight hours, many of the older FK9 types and other light aircrafts were "freed" from their two-stroke drives and were refitted with the M160 engine. The high efficiency rate coupled with the nearly unbelievable low noise levels proved to be the most outstanding feature of this drive system.