The Kraft Radio Control System was the product of champion pattern flier, Phil Kraft. He was a pioneer in R/C technology at the time. He was one of the earliest manufacturers to use the PPM - pulse position modulation system, commonly referred to then as "digital proportional" that is still the standard today (although PCM - pulse coded modulation - is used in the newer computer R/C systems). FM and dual-conversion, narrow band receivers were available as an option years before other companies had them. His systems were designed when the channel spacing was 80 Khz. When the new channels were being phased in (even numbered channels only) with a spacing of 40 Khz, the Kraft systems still performed great. With today's narrow band requirement (20 Khz spacing), and the saturated radio spectrum that you find in the urban areas, the single conversion receivers just aren't quite up to the task. Most Kraft transmitters can be readily updated, but the single conversion receivers should be limited to rural areas, far from the congested radio spectrum of the cities.

The quality and reliability of the Kraft R/C system was second to none. The legendary "golden boxes" were manufactured from the mid sixties to the very early eighties. Phil saw the writing on the wall and got out of the business at the beginning of the "import invasion" of the early eighties. He simply could not offer the top quality that Kraft was known for at a price that would compete with the lower quality Asian imports.

Remember "Das Ugly Stik"? It was designed by Phil as an expendable, quick building utility aircraft for testing purposes. This is probably the most widely copied design in the R/C model aircraft business. Make no mistake - the Ugly Stik was designed by Phil Kraft. The original construction article was published in "Grid Leaks" in the mid sixties. R/C Modeler published a construction article of the original "Das Ugly Stik" in May, 1985, and they still offer full size plans at a very reasonable price.