Country of origin:

United States of America

Description:

Light commercial transport

Power Plant:

One 560 kw (750 shp) Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34 turboprop

Specifications:

History:

The Kodiak is a high-wing, fixed undercarriage, single-engine, turboprop-powered, light transport developed by Quest Aircraft of Sandpoint, Idaho.  Powered by a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A turboprop, the aircraft made its public debut at the Alaska Airmen’s Trade Show, later being shown at the EAA Convention at Oshkosh in Wisconsin.  It is a conventional high-wing sheet-metal construction aircraft and can seat up to ten. Flight testing began in 2004 and certification to Part 23 was received in 2006.

Produced as a ‘next generation’ bush plane, the aircraft is the result of a collaborative commitment for an aircraft to service missionary agencies that minister in remote areas, as well as humanitarian groups and back-country commercial flight operators.

In the late 1990s Missionary Aviation Fellowship and Quest formulated an arrangement whereby funds would be raised to provide money to develop the aircraft.  Profits from the commercial sale of the aircraft were planned to subsidise portion of the cost of each 11th aircraft produced, this aircraft to be used for not-for-profit Christian and humanitarian aviation organisations. Quest stated the aircraft was to provide a rugged, back-country aircraft for remote operations by missionary aviation organisations around the world on an ‘at cost basis’.  It was said ‘because the Kodiak 100 carried twice the cargo of a Cessna 206, the amount of medicine, food and disaster relief supplied would dramatically increase, thus reducing operating costs’.

In January 2009 JAARS took delivery of a Kodiak 100 (P2-SIB – ex N498KQ – c/n 008) for service in Papua and New Guinea, to be based at Aiyura.  This company is a Bible translation group based at Sandpoint in Idaho and uses the aircraft, which is registered in New Guinea, for humanitarian relief.  The company was formed by Wycliffe Bible Translators in 2008.  A further Kodiak 100 (N58NH – c/n 001) was delivered to Missionary Aviation Fellowship in March 2009, this aircraft entering service in Irian Jaya and being placed on the Indonesian register.

Further aircraft have included N497KQ delivered to JAARS/SIL at Port Moresby on 14 November 2010 after a ferry flight from the United States, followed by N499KQ (c/n 100-0048) on 9 October 2011, this aircraft having been ferried from Santa Maria in California via Hilo in Hawaii and Majuro in the Marshall Islands.  Austrek Aviation of Toowoomba, QLD received a Kodiak on 1 October 2011, being ferried from the US, becoming VH-KKW ( c/n 100-0055) on 22 November 2011 and being registered to the Boomerang Pastoral Co.  A further example became VH-KGO (c/n 100-0195) owned and operated by Airflite Pty Ltd of Perth, WA in November 2019.

A number of examples have been registered in New Guinea to the Summer Institute of Linguistic Aviation, these including: P2-SIB (c/n 100-0008); P2-SID (c/n 100-0048 – ex N499KQ); P2-SIR (c/n 100-0038); and P2-SIT (c/n 100-0077).  In July 2016 P2-NTE (c/n 100-0111 – ex N111KQ) was delivered to New Tribes Mission Aviation of Goroka, followed by P2-NTZ (c/n 100-0118 – ex N118KQ) to the same operator in August 2016.

In late 2019 the Daher Group, the French manufacturer of the TBM family of aircraft, stated it was acquiring the Quest Aircraft Company which built the type at Sandpoint in Idaho, at that time some 270 examples having been produced.  Up to that time Setouchi (Holdings) and Mitsui, Japanese companies, were the owners of the manufacturer.