Fk Light Aircraft gives you a little glance into projects currently
in planning or testing.
 

Design work on the new model line 2003 type Polaris FK14-B

New FK-Building under construction in Speyer

News 15.11.2003
The new smart-Roadster engine is flying

Project presentation, lightweight plane drive
M160 ultralight (Smart), from 8/2001

New: Custom Fk9 for wheelchair pilots
(still only in german - but great pictures)

Design work on the new model line 2003 type Polaris FK14-B

Production of laser cutted wing geometrie-jig

Creating positive model and fitting to geometrie-jig

The properly adjusted wing model

Finishing of surfaces

The finished wing model ready to produce negative-molds on

Fuselage toolings

Model of new engine cowl with inlet-duct cooling system

New FK Headquarter under construction in Speyer

A new 1000 sqm workshop for the FK-lightplanes assembly line is under construction on the west-side of Speyer airport and will be ready to use
in late 2002!
 

Before ...

... during ....

making great strides:

   June 2002                                 August 2002       

Moving - January 2003

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News 15.11.2003
The new smart-Roadster engine is flying !

The manufacturer of the smart aircraft engine conversion - co. ECOFLY- has startet flight testing programm of the new 80 hp smart-Roadster engine in middle of this month! This engine was designed by mercedes benz and is basicly used in the new smart Roadster car and is an upgrated M160 powerplant of the smart citycar.

A FK9 mark 2 airframe is used for the tests. According first comments of test pilots the flight potential of the new powerplant seemed to be very positive regarding the combination of the well known gentle engine characteristic of the former Mercedes M160smart engine with the 30% higher power output of the new turbo-engine.

First flight comparison tests with a simialr FK9 Mark 2 powered by an 80 hp Rotax 912 engine showed better flight performances in all operation ranges with a significant lower fuel consumption!

ECOFLY will publish more details via its website soon.

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Project presentation
The M160 ultralight SMART Drive for light aircraft,
information from 8/2001

Aircraft certification for FK9 Mk2 with SMART engine.
54 dbA were measured for the SMART engine,
a mere 25% of the limit allowed by law!

For production and sale of the SMART motor system,
the "Ecofly" company was founded at the beginning of 2001 by
Otto Funk and Erhard Rau:
www.ecofly.de

Inquires about this motor type can be directed per email to either:
Otto Funk or Erhard Rau
 

The Concept
The SMART turbo motor was conceived and developed by Daimler Chrysler as a radical new approach to the drive system for the new City Coupés. This project aimed at setting new standards in production by focusing particularly on the weight and therefore the ecological impact of the car.
The technology implemented by Mercedes-Benz for the design of this motor made it equally interesting for aircraft construction:
 

Ultra compact, noise-optimized,
complete aluminum construction; dual ignition concept.

Intensive testing even at continuous full load under all climatic conditions over distances of several million automobile km, and numerous "more than" 1000-hr tests on the testing stations.

The turbo technology with boost control planned from the very beginning of the basic motor concept provides full motor continuous power even at altitudes
of 2500m (67hp).

The torque characteristics in combination with the "overboost" ensure that high power is provided from the very start, even without a variable pitch propeller.
 

Fully electronic characteristics control modes and operation monitoring with emergency auxiliary functions ( E-Gas, electronic spark control, mixture control, altitude adaption.....)

State-of–the-art Bosch fuel injection system (carburetor icing not possible), electronically controlled 3-way catalytic converter with Lambda sensor.

What could have been more obvious than to use this motor concept as the basis for a forward-looking airplane engine?

The designers
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. Since then, Erhard Rau has succeeded in engaging the Mercedes-Benz designer who had originally been responsible for the motor concept and construction, to participate in the adaptation of the motor for use in aircraft. This will ensure that the engine requirements of the drive system will be optimally taken care of.

Objectives
It is intended in the future to offer our own society for retrofitting the motors for use as flight engines and also to organize Sales and Service.
With this in mind, the company of ECOFLY was established in 2001 by O. Funk and E. Rau.

Market Launch
Subsequent to comprehensive testing in the training FK9 of the EFK Speyer with over 700 flight hours, many of the older FK9 types 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.
Furthermore, ECOFLY is working continuously on reducing the weight still further while simultaneously increasing drive performance. At the moment it has a power yield of around 70 PS and because of its excellent torque properties is most suitable for the modern ultralight planes.

 

For the refitting the older ULs, ECOFLY has especially developed the "firewall forward kit". This kit comprises:

Engine with E starter, fuel injection system, exhaust gas turboblower
Charge cooling
Suction box with air filter
Water-cooling with thermostat
Control electronics
Electronically controlled 3-way catalytic converter
Generator
Power control
Propeller gear unit

This drive kit is configured for normal installment in the airframe as with other commercial engines for these plane types.

Engine cowling, propeller and engine mount are also available, for instance for the FK9 Mk1+Mk2 models. On request, ECOFLY can also carry out assembly of the system.

Mercedes engine in serial aircraft
Fk-Lightplanes is the first manufacturer to offer this engine system in a serial aircraft. For this purpose, a special model, the FK9 Smart was created.
This design is not just an FK9 fitted with a Mercedes Smart engine. It is rathermore a complete package embodying its own special philosophy and technology and echoing in this respect the idea of the smart automobile.
This concept uses the lightweight FK9 Utility airframe, with more sophisticated paintwork and furnishings than the basic version. The streamlined technology implemented includes practical systems and instruments; superfluous details have been deliberately excluded. Configuration and equipment are serial installations but the plane comes ready to "fly away"!
This allows a serial price that is wide below a similarly equipped Rotax FK9. All this, not to forget the significantly lower fuel consumption and much less expensive maintenance – After all, it's "smart"...

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