proptop

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What was the name of his homebuilt? I remember it was white with red trim...
IIRC it was on the cover of MAN or RCM back in the late 70's?

Anyone got a pic? I have not been able to find one yet.

TFF

Kraft Super Fli. MAN has plans, I think. I have an old Concept Models .40 size kit and I think there was a bigger kit from Ohio. To me it looks like a Pitts Special fuse with a low wing.

normgoyer

Phil Kraft was flying in vicinity of Apple Valley Airport where we had one of our four FBOs and he developed a gas leak in the cockpit. He landed and our repair faciity fixed the gas tank in the Super Fly. It was a very nice airplane and makes an excellent model. Norm

proptop

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Thanks guys...
I thought it was a low wing, but wasn't 100% sure.

TFF

http://1000aircraftphotos.com/Contri...lborg/7590.htm

Lomcevak Duck

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I think something is wrong with your link there. I can't get it to open.

TFF

Working ok here. http://1000aircraftphotos.com Should work. I looked up the tail # on the FAA site; it is now registered to a F1 pylon racer, but Phil Kraft had N5PK on another plane a Kitfox which was crashed. I bet the SuperFli is sitting in a garage somewhere.

Lomcevak Duck

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Ok disregaurd my earlier post. The link is working now.

culver

I would hope the airplane exsists in storage somewhere since it was deregistered in 1990. It was the first airplane I had ever watched do a four point hammerhead turn, the pilot showed up at San Diego stadium with an Ugly Stick powered with a Kraft 61 and a Kraft radio ( go figure ) and promptly planted it in the parking lot, busted the engine in a couple pieces and disappeared. He went on to an airline career and now flys IMAC with the 1/3 scale giants.

B58

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Wasn't the Space Walker a Kraft design too. Built first as a model, then scaled up to full size. Bob

normgoyer

No, the Spacewalker came out years ago as a homebuilt and plans and partial kits were sold. Hazel Sig and Maxie Hester liked the airplane and built several versions, full scale, in their Montezuma Iowa hangars. Then they kitted a giant scale version of the Spacewalker. The plane is still available both model size and full size plans. I flew the two passenger version for an article I did in Custom Planes magazines about 6 or 7y years ago. It is a nice plane but nothing special. Norm

dlovitt

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You may be interested to know Chris White in Australia has designed a nice looking arf verson of the Super Fly and will hopefully be released soon by Hobby People. I think he said it was based on the Model Airplane News plans. A small picture of it exists on the Hobby People web site under Mikes blog. Chris is a former Australian national aerobatic champion and has turned his attention to scale. I have seen his work and it is first rate.

Dave

Thumb Thumb

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I have a few shots from my old photo album.

I had the good fortune of getting about 825 or so hours in the "Fli" over a 13 year time span. Notice the spelling, "Super Fli". Phil sold the airplane to Ian Padden around 1989. Ian moved it from Oceanside, Ca. to Santa Paula, Ca. airport and put a bigger engine in the nose. I think it was an Lyc. I.O. 540. I don't know if it ever flew again. A friend I worked with at Western Airlines said it looked like a Sukhoi. I heard rumors that it was moved to Ocala, Florida. My friends Fred Johnson and Jimmy Rossi never saw it there. I have lost it's trail but would love to hear if anyone has seen it.

Left - Super Fli on a cross country to Delano, Ca. Center - Practice session at Ramona, Ca. On the left Steve Nelson, on the right Phil Kraft. Right - Taxi out at Ramona, Ca. for a workout in the box.

Enjoy the pictures.

Steve Nelson
San Diego

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A few more.

Left - Fond du Lac, 1976. We met Kermit Weeks there who was just receiving news that grandma was going to be leaving him some money. He was concerned that he didn't know what he was going to do with all of it. My six year old and four year old sons called him Kermit the Frog and hung around with him like glue. Also met Leo Laudenslager who had the only other mono wing competing in Unlimited. Center - Ramp shot at home airport, Oceanside, Ca. Right - Cross contry from Ramona, Ca. back to Oceanside, Ca.

Thumb Thumb

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I even have a video from an airshow in 1981. Not sure if there is any interest out there and I don't know how to download it if there is. Let me know if there is interest and how to do the download. Enjoy!

Left - Borrego Springs, Ca. at an airshow with the entire Rockwell Company folks at the fly-in / airshow day with Bob Hoover as the main event . The ramp was packed with airplanes. Perfect day for an airshow. Center - I.A.C. contest competing in Unlimited at Denton, Texas. Right - Lunch time airshow at the second (of eighteen) TOC's in Las Vegas. Inset, left to right, William G. Bennett owner of the Circus Circus and sponsor of the great event, Sue Nelson my boss and best friend, Phil Kraft - everybody knows Phil, and standing - Marty Berry, Kraft Systems adminstrator. The Model "Super Fli" is a Joe Bridi .60 size (Kraft engine of course) and was used to fly formation shows alongside the full scale to the glee of the spectators.

Steve

dlovitt

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Thanks for the pictures Steve, It must have been a kick to fly. Do you have any other views? These are all left side. I am familiar with Santa Paula, Dan Torrey maintains my Bellanca Super Viking so I'm there at least once a year. What a great airport. Always something going on.


Dave

TFF

Thank you for the photos and thoughts. I have the Concept kit and a bunch of FM Kraft radios so that is what will go in it for fun. Sense you were so involved with the plane, can you tell some of the design details and ideas that went into it? How was it to fly?

I just did a search on Ian Padden and N numbers and found a plane called a Vortex and has an N number of N5XZ with an IO360. Hmmm. Anyone knows of an aerobatic plane or homebuilt with that name?

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Well I’ll be darn……your right! They are all the left side. I don’t think I have any scanned pictures of the right ready to post. It was the same as the left.

The airplane was very competitive from 1975 to about 1978. It was a little heavy and the roll rate a little slow at about 180 degrees a second but to me it felt really great for its day. It could easily fly the Unlimited class.

The snaps were great. Spin entries were a little funky. It had a hesitation right after the stall that hung up the rotation some and that kind of hurt the scores by about 1.5 or so.

We removed the constant speed prop and went with the fixed pitch to get some of the weight off and to achieve better vertical penetration. We took off the starter motor, the alternator and stripped out the battery. Later we added spades or shovels to the ailerons. That increased the roll rate and lightened the aileron pressure considerably. We talked about increasing the horse power and possibly building a new thinner and lighter wing to stay with the changing competition conditions. Phil decided not to go down that path. It was a great air show machine, so we finished out its life cycle performing with it nationally.

The common story line is that it was a scaled up model from the famous Phil Kraft “Fli� series of model designs. In actuality, it is an original design of its own. Besides Paul White there were three or four other engineers who worked for Phil at Kraft Systems in Vista, Ca. who had a big part in its construction.

For me it was a great time to pull g’s and see the country. It was a real treat to meet all the fine people at both Kraft Systems and later the Circus Circus who joined in on the sponsorship. That all culminated into the world famous TOC series of model aerobatics in Las Vegas. I got to see it all and that for me was very cool.

proptop

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Wow...
I'd kind of forgotten about this thread...and now we hear from the guy who flew it! How cool is that!?

Thank you for sharing the pics and info Steve...and I can probably speak for the others when I say we'd also like to see the video.[8D]

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The video is here:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w47mV5h9DZA




Enjoy!

dlovitt

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Thanks for the video Steve. I'll bet you have a lot of great memories with so much time in the Super Fli. It is a very capable machine. The verticals look good even before the 540 upgrade!


Dave Lovitt
Willits, Ca.

mradcliff

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Here are some photos of my "restored" Super Fli. I flew this aircraft in the 1978 T.O.C. in Vegas to 11th place. It was in storage for more than 30 years and had deteriated somewhat. I started chatting via internet with Steve last year and I fix'ed her up and flew some demo flights at a classic pattern event in Chicago last May. After that I donated her to the AMA museum in Muncie where it is currently on display. I always loved the design and I wish someone would come up with a 40% version.
Mark

TFF

Good to see the model going to the AMA. Nice job making it look new. If I remember right, there was a picture of it in RCM with their TOC coverage.
Great video; you really rung it out. Good to see it in action.

peterduplessis

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Hi Mark
I saw a great 40% SuperFli here in South Africa last month ... using a DA170. It flies like a dream!
Peter

mradcliff

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Peter,
I wish it was available here. I believe I hadan email froma gentleman from SA a year or so ago concerning a big Super Fli. He was actually having a couple made for himself in China and was trying to get me to bring one into the USA. He sent me photos. I believe they are on my old laptop. I just don't have the bucks to do that. I sure would like to see/fly a big one. Thanks for the update and if you hear they are available to purchase I would like to know. Take a picture if you see it again.
Mark