Need help finding Peter Konig contact info
I realize this is avery old thread but I stumbled upon it looking for parts for my Konig SD570 four cylinder radial engine. From what I have heard is that Peter still has several parts available and is willing to sell them. Could someone please point me in the direction of how I can make contact with Peter or his sister Marion? It would be greatly appriciated.
Thanks,
RickM
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Smokin' Joe
A week ago our son Hans and I visited Holger Arens at his factory in east Berlin. We'll post photos and a story later. He told us that the König factory is still there on Friedrich Olbricht Damm, the doors were simply shut when Dieter died, and that son Peter König occasionally sells some motor parts to König enthusiasts. That was during our annual vacation on the east German island Hiddensee ne of Berlin.
On the way back from Hiddensee to Austria yesterday we stopped and (with Wayne Baldwin's help with the address) finally found the factory's back entrance just before Peter and his sister Marion were about to drive away. I immediately recognized Peter from photos of Dieter. Peter asked who am I, noticed my Johnson cap, and was immediately very friendly (as was Marion) to an old boat racer. They had a duty to perform but nevertheless took time to show us the factory (I didn't find out if they speak English, but having grown up in west Berlin I assume that they do). As we walked inside the factory I said to Peter 'Wir sind auf heilige Grund' ('We're on holy ground'). When he took me into the test room he finally responded, 'Jetzt sind wir auf heilige Grund' ('Now we're on holy ground'). There were a pair of expansion chambers attached to a hose to send the exhaust out of the building. I didn't see the dyno but it was surely there. In another room we looked at rows of blocks and powerheads, a few with v-block reeds (experimental) but most with rotary valves. There were also the air cooled plane motors. Near the end Marion brought out a box of props, König, Wald (east German) and Dewald. There was an unworked König prop casting among the lot. Peter vaguely recalls being with his father once when the metal was poured (Marion thinks the molds may still exist) but he doesn't recall the foundry. The König prop has a blade shape that I'd build, so I bought it. I don't know which class motor it fits, will put it on my pitch gauge when I get back to Houston and then Wayne can tell me the class. It was a very pleasant and important experience for me to see the old factory, rows of parts complete with machines. Peter didn't want photos made of the machines because of what he saw as Unordnung. My German wife took one photo, she didn't hear him say that, and the machine shop looked fine to both of us.
The first photo shows the front, today, of the former factory building. The König entrance is at rear. Between the used car business and König is a small metal works. Wayne has posted (pg. 1) a photo of the front of the building from 1977, and fantastic photos from the inside. Presumably, that was during Wayne's trip to Berlin when he and Dieter went to a race in Austria on the Donau/Danube. I didn't ask Peter and Marion if the rent out the rest of the building, or simply sold it.
I told Peter I'll try to visit again next summer. Marion was kind enough to give me a stack of König decals before we left, now I'll have to put them on a JohnRude! Unless there are enough parts left in the stock to assemble a complete König. I'm wondering if the old 3 cyl. 500 cc model might be possible but would settle for a Boxer.... .
As an anecdote, I told Peter I was a factory-trained Mercury mechanic at age 14 and cringed every time I saw a König speed record listed in the NOA record book. that brought a smile.
Joe McCauley
PS I learned later via email that Peter is fluent in English.