His brother Gustav (1849–1933) was living in Australia at the time, and Lilienthal did not engage in aviation experiments until his brother's return in 1885.
他的弟弟古斯塔夫（1849年－1933年）這時住在澳大利亞，而奧托·李林塔爾在古斯塔夫於1885年返回德國之前皆未參加任何飛行試驗。