Kodiak in a hangar with left-side doors openQuest Kodiak on amphibious floats
The Daher Kodiak (formerly Quest Kodiak) is an American utility aircraft designed by and originally manufactured by Quest Aircraft in Sandpoint, Idaho. Manufacturing was taken over by Daher in 2019 after its purchase of Quest Aircraft.[3] The high-wing, unpressurized, single-engined turboprop has a fixed tricycle landing gear and is suitable for STOL operations from unimproved airfields.
Design began in 1999, it made its maiden flight on October 16, 2004, and was certified on 31 May 2007 before first delivery in January 2008. By 2021, 300 were delivered.
In June 2010, Wipaire, Inc. was granted Supplemental Type Certification allowing Wipline 7000 amphibious floats to be installed on Kodiaks.[5] In November of that same year, it was also certified for flight into known icing after the installation of a TKS system, which protects exposed surfaces via glycol-based fluids.[6]
In 2014, an executive "Summit interior" with club seating was introduced.[7]
In May 2018, Quest Aircraft unveiled the Series II, priced at $2.15 million.
The airframe has improved cargo door step mechanism and wing-root sealing, new crew-door stays, optional single-point refueling, and new paint schemes.
The cockpit has compact backup instruments, a faster Garmin G1000 NXi with HSI map displaying traffic, terrain, weather, navaids, and obstacles and a multifunction display showing terrain, usable for weight and balance and permitting autopilot visual approaches.[9]
In 2019, French aircraft manufacturer Daher acquired Quest Aircraft from Setouchi Holdings.[10]
The Series III version was unveiled in March 2021.[2]
The stretched Kodiak 900 model received its European type certificate in April 2023.[11]
In 2023, its equipped price was $2.95M, and $3.49M for the stretched -900.[12]
Design
The utility aircraft can accommodate 10 people. It features short-field capability and good useful load.[13] Its STOL performance comes from a fixed, discontinuous leading edge on the outboard wing and the 750 hp (559 kW) Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34 turboprop engine.
Passenger seats are track-mounted and removable, it has access doors for the pilots and the aft clamshell door, with automatic steps, allows cargo loading or eight passengers boarding.
The Kodiak's aluminum fuselage can be repaired in the field and offers a 54 in × 57 in (137 cm × 145 cm) cargo door. Optional Aerocet carbon-fiber floats can be fitted and weigh 700 lb (320 kg) with wheels or 400 lb (180 kg) without wheels, the carbon-fiber floats are 380 lb (170 kg) lighter than aluminum floats while cruising 8 kn (15 km/h) faster and are more watertight. The Aerocet floats can be operated in 18–20 in (46–51 cm) waves. The Kodiak Series II is more refined and has upgraded door and wing root seals to reduce wind leaks and exhaust odors. The model's upgraded Garmin G1000NXi avionics are similar to the original G1000 with three 10 in (250 mm) screens, but is more responsive and offers more PFD insets, including a mini moving map, which can display traffic, terrain, waypoints and weather.[14]
The Kodiak is bigger than the DHC-2 Beaver, but smaller than the DHC-3 Otter or Cessna Caravan. It has more power than the older de Havillands and takes off in less distance than the Caravan.[14]
Operational history
The first Kodiak was delivered to launch customer Spirit Air in January 2008.[15] By September 2013, 100 Kodiaks had been built, with the 100th aircraft being delivered to US operator Sunstate Aviation.[16] The Kodiak was designed for use by mission societies, and several aircraft have been delivered to organisations such as Mission Aviation Fellowship and JAARS.[17][18] Some of the Kodiaks built have been produced under Quest Aircraft's Quest Mission Team (QMT) program.[18] The QMT program aims to sell one of every 11 Kodiaks built to a mission organisation at cost price.[18]
The 200th aircraft was delivered in December 2016 for a record yearly production of 36 Kodiaks, while the production facility was extended by 25% in September to cope with growing demand.[19]
The 250th was delivered in 2018, as the highest time aircraft surpassed 5,000 hours.[20]
The 300th aircraft had been delivered by December 2021, as the fleet had logged over 278,700 flight hours.[2]
Model introduced in May 2018, incorporating improvements, including a Garmin G1000NXi avionics suite, Flight Stream 510 tablet connection device, an angle-of-attack indicator and a digital standby four instrument group.[21]
Kodiak 100 Series III
Model introduced in March 2021, incorporating a Garmin G1000 NXi instrument panel, a GFC 700 autopilot, SurfaceWatch runway monitoring technology, synthetic vision system and an optional Garmin GWX 75 Doppler-capable weather radar. An eight-seat "Executive Edition" VIP cabin was also introduced. It has club-seating, increased oxygen volume, along with air conditioning with separate controls for the cockpit and cabin.[22] In March 2023, an optional 96 in (2.44 m), five-bladed Hartzell Propeller composite propeller was offered. The new propeller is six dB(A) quieter, gives a five percent shorter takeoff roll and is 13 pounds lighter than the standard four-blade aluminum Hartzell propeller.[23]
Daher Kodiak 900 N9035C at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in July 2022.
Kodiak 900
Stretched variant of the Kodiak 100 Series III introduced at the 2022 EAA AirVenture at Oshkosh. The 900 features a 3.9-foot longer fuselage and is powered by a 900-shp Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-140A engine. Deliveries are expected to commence around January 2023. The Kodiak 900 will supplement the Kodiak 100 but not replace it.[24][25]
Air Claw
A surveillance modification by Northrop Grumman with a FLIR Systems Star Safire sensor and a Persistent Surveillance Systems Hawkeye wide area sensor.[26]
Operators
The largest single order was announced on 15 November 2016 for 20 aircraft from Sky Trek, to be delivered within a year.
Tokyo-based Sky Trek plans to begin air charter services in the first half of 2017 and is a start-up membership-based operator owned by Mitsui and Setouchi Holdings.[27] Setouchi was the Quest dealer for Japan and purchased Quest Aircraft in 2015.[28]
India's SpiceJet intends to buy 100 amphibious Kodiaks, a $400 million deal. It has applied for financial support from Narendra Modi as part of the national aviation expansion program UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik, "Let Every Person Fly") for connecting its population by air, despite limited infrastructure. As only 3% of Indians travel by air, it is hoped that the Kodiak will stimulate air travel by operating from waterways and unimproved runways. The aircraft has been demonstrated as a landplane and seaplane demonstrations will happen next. Aerocet carbon-fiber amphibious floats are a $400,000 option.[29]
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