Klapptriebwerk

Driven by the desire to take to the air without outside help, Walter Binder began working on retractable power plants more than 50 years ago.

Building on existing technology, the first power plants were still equipped with Wankelengines. But soon Walter Binder switched to Rotax two-stroke engines.

From the experience with various metal engine pylons, the first CFK (carbon fiber) pylon with a Rotax engine was created in 1991. Since the required quantities were too small for Rotax, production of the certified two-stroke engines was discontinued in 1994.

Walter Binder then contacted Wolfgang Emmerich of Solo and inquired about a 50-60 hp two-stroke engine. Solo was already producing two-stroke engines for sustainers at that time.

At this time, Oliver Binder joined the company as a trained toolmaker. Today he is the managing director, with decades of experience in engine and aircraft construction. This led to the first Solo 2625 01 as a retractable power plant with a single-carburetor engine and about 53 hp, and later the Solo 2625 02 power plant with a dual-carburetor engine and about 64 hp.

Over the next decades, the engine components were continuously adapted and modified to the state of the art and requirements. To date, more than 1,000 drive systems have been manufactured.