Erich Handt, of Germany, was born in 1919 and became a precision engineer’s apprentice at the early age of 17. After the war in 1945 he took a job in aviation technology and began building and flying model aircraft.
He machined and constructed his first two-cycle engine in 1967 and his first successful four-cycle engine in 1971. The cams on his four-cycle were driven by a belt he modified from a dental tool. Stimulated by the success of his first four-cycle he became the first four-cycle engine manufacturer in the Federal Republic of Germany to produce a miniature series of model engines.
In this design, which was finished in 1971, Handt used three carburetors—one for each cylinder. This requires each carburetor to be individually tuned to its cylinder before all are mechanically linked together. It runs on methanol with oil mixed in for lubrication.