Kwik-Fli, Slow Build: Who’s Phil Kraft?

Kwik-Fli, Slow Build Blog Series header graphic. With a close-up of the model's engine at center, the graphic is done in orange and blue.Beppe Fascione’s hard at work on other projects (and maybe sneaking in some work on the Kwik-Fli Mk. II without documenting it?), so we thought we’d take this opportunity to talk a bit about Phil Kraft, the man behind the designs that Beppe is building.

A man in a white shirt kneels behind a model airplane and transmitter. The photo is taken outside, with a dusty ground and a tree line in the background.
Phil Kraft posing with the Kwik-Fli Mk. III. Photo from Model Airplane News, February 1968.

Phil Kraft’s story is documented in his AMA History Project Biography, but in short, Phil was a life-long modeler who – frustrated with a lack of reliable radio equipment – started his own company to design and sell said equipment. Officially incorporated in 1963, Kraft Systems, Inc. soon became one of the most reliable and popular brands in the model aviation hobby.

Phil’s love of model aviation meant that he didn’t just confine it to the office. He was an active competitor, winning the 1967 Radio Control Pattern World Championships, various Nats, and participating in the Tournament of Champions both as a competitor, and then the Contest Director.

Over the years, Phil was responsible for nineteen Radio Control model airplane designs. The Kwik-Fli series is the most famous and influential, but his Ugly Stick is still well-known. Phil also designed, built and flew his own full-scale aerobatic model, the Super Fli.

A radio control model airplane done in a World War II German color scheme. Shown with a 1967 era Kraft transmitter.
Das Ugly Stik, another Radio Control model airplane design by Phil Kraft (built by Beppe Fascione).

According to an obituary written by his grandson, Phil kept himself busy with hobbies, which included jazz (he played the piano), photography, and restoring old Ferraris.

A black and white image of a man wearing a flight backpack climbing into a cockpit.
Phil Kraft climbing into the cockpit of the Super Fli. From the article “Super Fli Full Scale” in Model Airplane News, April 1976.

To quote Phil’s grandson, Phil’s “legacy lives on, and we remember you as a man who dreamed, who grabbed hold of his passions, who made us laugh, made us smile, who found joy in his family, and in life; a man who became one of the greatest success stories every told.”

Next post:  February 15, 2020

See all the Kwik-Fli, Slow Build posts!

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3 comments

  1. Hi there
    I am looking for information about the drones history:
    1. Were was the Phil Kraft drones manufacture located?
    2. What was the name of Mr. Arber’s drones manufacture in Chicago Ill.?
    Thank you

  2. Hi there
    I am looking for information about the drones history:
    1. Were was the Phil Kraft drones manufacture located at trhe 60th?
    2. What was the name of Mr. Arber’s drones manufacture in Chicago Ill.?
    Thank you

  3. Thank you for your questions. Per Phil’s biography (https://www.modelaircraft.org/sites/default/files/files/KraftPhilipPhil.pdf), Phil Kraft first started his business in his garage circa 1962, then quickly moved to a plant in South El Monte, CA. He incorporated and the business was named Kraft Systems, Inc. in 1964. The company moved to Vista, CA in 1969.

    We didn’t immediately find information about Mr. Arber or any companies he owned. We are working remotely at this time and may find details about him when we are back in the offices. Do you have any more details, such as a time frame of when the company would have been in business? That would help us with our search.

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