Quest Kodiak

The Quest Kodiak (now Daher Kodiak) is an American utility aircraft designed and built by Quest Aircraft. The high-wing, unpressurized, single-engined turboprop has a fixed tricycle landing gear and is suitable for STOL operations from unimproved airfields.

Kodiak
Role Utility aircraft
National origin United States
Manufacturer Quest Aircraft
Daher
Designer Evan Mortenson[1]
First flight October 16, 2004
Introduction January 2008
Status In production
Produced 2007-present
Number built 250 (2018)[2]
Unit cost
US$2.4548 million (2019)[3]
Kodiak in a hangar with left-side doors open
Quest Kodiak on amphibious floats

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 2018, 250 were delivered. Quest Aircraft was purchased by Daher in 2019.

Development

Engineering design began in 1999, while the company organization was being finalized.[1] The design was type certified by the US Federal Aviation Administration on 31 May 2007.[4]

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 April 2017, the Kodiak received its type certificate from the European Aviation Safety Agency.[8]

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 an 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]

Design

The utility aircraft can accommodate 10 people. It features short-field capability and good useful load.[11] 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, 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 inch screens, but is more responsive and offers more PFD insets, including a mini moving map, which can display traffic, terrain, waypoints and weather.[12]

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.[12]

Operational history

The first Kodiak was delivered to launch customer Spirit Air in January 2008.[13] By September 2013, 100 Kodiaks had been built, with the 100th aircraft being delivered to US operator Sunstate Aviation.[14] The Kodiak was designed for use by mission societies, and several aircraft have been delivered to organisations such as Mission Aviation Fellowship and JAARS.[15][16] Some of the Kodiaks built have been produced under Quest Aircraft's Quest Mission Team (QMT) program.[16] The QMT program aims to sell one of every 11 Kodiaks built to a mission organisation at cost price.[16]

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.[17] The 250th was delivered in 2018, as the highest time aircraft surpassed 5,000 hours.[2]

Variants
Kodiak 100
Base model, FAA certificated 31 May 2007.[4]
Kodiak 100 Series II
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.[18]
Air Claw
A surveillance modification by Northrop Grumman with a FLIR systems Star Saphire sensor and a Persistent Surveillance Systems Hawkeye wide area sensor.[19]

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.[20] Setouchi was the Quest dealer for Japan and purchased Quest Aircraft in 2015.[21]

In November 2017, 220 Quest Kodiaks are flying worldwide as freighters, for skydiving and as business aircraft.[22]

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.[22]

Accidents

By October 2018, there had been 16 Kodiak aviation accidents and incidents reported in the Aviation Safety Network database which include five hull-losses and three accidents causing five fatalities.[23]

Specifications

Data from Brochure[24]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Capacity: 9 passengers
  • Payload: 248 cu ft (no passengers) (7.02 m3)
  • Length: 34’2" (10.42 m)
  • Wingspan: 45 ft (13.7 m)
  • Height: 15’3" (4.65 m)
  • Wing area: 240 ft2 (22.3 m2)
  • Aspect ratio: 8.44
  • Empty weight: 3,770 lb (1,710 kg)
  • Useful load: 3,535 lb (1,603 kg)
  • Max. takeoff weight: 7,255 lb (3,290 kg)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34 turboprop, 750 hp takeoff, 700 hp continuous (559 kW takeoff, 522 kW continuous)
  • Propellers: Constant speed, feathering, reversible propeller
    • Propeller diameter: 96 in (2.44 m)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 183 ktas (339 km/h)
  • Cruise speed: 174 ktas (322 km/h) 12,000 ft [3,700 m]
  • Stall speed: 77 kcas (143 km/h) flaps up, 60 kcas / 111 km/h flaps down
  • Range: 1,132 nm (2,096 km) 135 ktas, 12,000 ft [3,700 m]
  • Endurance: 9.9 hrs (95 ktas, 12,000 ft [3,700m])
  • Service ceiling: 25,000 ft [lower-alpha 1] (7,620 m)
  • Rate of climb: (max. cont. at Sea Level) 1,371 ft/min (6.97 m/s, 418 m/min) 874 ft/min @ 10,000 ft
  • Wing loading: 30.1 lbs/sq ft (147 kg/m2)
  • Fuel consumption: at 174 kn (322 km/h): 48 gph, 182 L/hr (3.63 nmi/gal, 56.5 L/100km)
  • Takeoff Ground Roll: 934 ft / 285 m
  • Braked Roll: (w/o reverse) 705 ft / 215 m

See also
A Quest Kodiak (background) alongside a Cessna Grand Caravan on an airport apron

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

Notes
  1. Only when approved oxygen system is installed, otherwise 14,000 ft

References
  1. Evan Mortenson (January 28, 2013). "Creating Kodiak". Aviation Week & Space Technology.
  2. Kerry Lynch (October 9, 2018). "Quest Series II Kodiak To Mark NBAA Debut". AIN online.
  3. "Purchase Planning Handbook" (PDF). Business & Commercial Aviation. Aviation Week Network. June 2019.
  4. "Type Certificate Data Sheet No. A00007SE" (PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. January 14, 2015.
  5. "Wipaire Announces Certification of Wipline 7000 Float for Quest KODIAK" (Press release). Quest Aircraft. June 21, 2010.
  6. Mary Grady (November 29, 2010). "Kodiak Icing System FAA Certified".
  7. Thurber, Matt (July 30, 2014). "Summit Interior Certified in Quest Kodiak Turboprop". AIN Online. The Convention News Company Inc. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  8. "Quest Kodiak secures European approval". Flight Global. April 10, 2017.
  9. Matt Thurber (May 30, 2018). "Quest Aircraft Unveils Series II Kodiak". AIN online.
  10. Daher Completes Quest Aircraft Acquisition
  11. "Quest Aircraft".
  12. Fred George (December 24, 2018). "Quest Kodiak 100 Series II: Still Rugged As A Bear But Without Claws". Business & Commercial Aviation.
  13. "Quest begins customer deliveries". Wings Magazine. January 28, 2008. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
  14. "Quest Evaluates Production As Kodiak Reaches 100". Aviation Week. September 24, 2013.
  15. "JAARS Takes Quest Kodiak Delivery". Aviation International News. January 29, 2009.
  16. Pew, Glenn (August 10, 2010). "Quest Kodiak Fulfills Promise, Delivers Aircraft "At Cost"". AvWeb. Aviation Publishing Group. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
  17. "Quest Delivered a Record 36 Aircraft in 2016". Aviation International News. February 6, 2017.
  18. O'Connor, Kate (May 30, 2018). "Quest Launches Upgraded G1000NXi Kodiak". AVweb. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  19. Amy Butler (September 3, 2012). "Small Northrop Unit Pursues New Manned, Unmanned Work". Aviation Week and Space Technology.
  20. "Quest secures record order for Kodiak". Flight Global. November 16, 2016.
  21. Dan Namowitz (February 18, 2015). "Turboprop builder Quest Aircraft sold to Japanese group". AOPA.
  22. Mark Phelps (November 9, 2017). "SpiceJet Explores Buying 100 Amphibious Kodiaks". Aviation International News.
  23. "Aviation Safety Database: Quest Kodiak". Flight Safety Foundation. October 10, 2018.
  24. "Kodiak Brochure" (PDF). Quest Aircraft. April 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 8, 2017.
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