12/06/2025
How a single leap of faith laid the foundation for Rotax’s aircraft engine legacy. Meet Heino Brditschka, a true legend and one of the first pilots ever to take off with a Rotax engine.
Back in the early 1970s, a small team of aviation enthusiasts at Bombardier-Rotax (BRP-Rotax today) recognized something unexpected: the lightweight, two-cylinder snowmobile engines were making their way into North America’s aviation market, where they were adapted for aircraft applications. At that time, most recreational aircraft relied on heavy automotive or industrial spinoff engines - but Rotax engineers saw that their compact, lightweight snowmobile engine design was a perfect fit.
And this is where Heino’s Rotax story begins. As a certified aircraft technician and founder of HB-Flugtechnik, Heino has spent his life building, designing, and maintaining planes. His flight instructor, Rotax engineer and aviation enthusiast Karl Bablich, insisted that Heino install a snowmobile engine into his motor glider. Eventually, Heino agreed and installed a modified 40-hp Rotax snowmobile engine into his HB3 motor glider.
In mid-1972, Heino flew the maiden flight and oversaw all the flight testing, playing a crucial role in the development process and earning his place as a true Rotax legend. Heino remembers: “Less than a month after we flew with that engine, Bombardier’s management called and said, 'We’re on our way. We want to see how our snowmobile engine gets a plane off the ground.' They couldn’t believe it.”
Just as in the 1970s, we still benefit from working aviation enthusiasts in our aircraft business, keeping that pioneering spirit alive.
