Gustav Otto - Passion For Flight

Passion For Flight

Gustav competed successfully in cars and on motorcycles in various sports events. He was also very active in the earliest days of aviation. On 10 April 1910 he obtained his pilot's license on an Aviatik biplane (also he took over an agency for this aircraft). He founded the "Aeroplanbau Otto-Alberti" workshop (renamed "Gustav Otto Flugmaschinenfabrik" in 1911) at the Puchheim airfield. In 1910, Gustav built a biplane he designed; it created a sensation throughout Germany. Gustav, along with a few others, flew machines made of wood, wire, canvas and powered by Daimler aeroengines. Gustav sold over 30 aircraft through his company, which also included a flight school. Through their passion for these flying machines, they helped transform aviation from a do-it-yourself hobby to a genuine industry vital to the military, especially after the breakout of World War I. Interestingly, Ernst Udet, the second-highest scoring German flying ace of World War I (second only to the Red Baron), earned his pilots license from private training with Gustav at this time.

Gustav founded numerous companies for the purpose of building aircraft. For his first company, the following entry was recorded in the Munich Company Register under the number 14/364 on 15 March 1911: "Gustav Otto in Munich, Flugmaschinenfabrik (aircraft factory), Office Karlstrasse 72". Shortly afterwards, Otto moved the workshop from its original location at 37, Gabelsberger Strasse to its new premises at 135, Schleissheimer Strasse, and in 1913 started to construct a new factory at 76, Neulerchenfeldstrasse (later Lerchenauer Strasse)at the Oberwiesenfeld (the business was renamed "Otto-Werke" in 1915).