Quest Kodiak

Kodiak
Role Light transport Turboprop aircraft
Manufacturer Quest Aircraft
Designer Evan Mortenson[1]
First flight 16 October 2004
Introduction 13 May 2005
Status In production
Primary user Mission Aviation Fellowship
JAARS
Produced 2007-present
Number built 100+ (2013)
Unit cost
$1.7 million "Green-aircraft" (2012)[2]
Quest Kodiak
Quest Kodiak on floats

The Quest Kodiak is a high-wing, unpressurized, single-engine turboprop-powered fixed tricycle landing gear aircraft built by Quest Aircraft, suitable for utility applications on unimproved airfields. A skydiving version has been certificated.

The Kodiak is intended more for the utilitarian market, although an executive interior, the "Summit package" with club seating, was introduced in 2009.

Design and development

Engineering design began in 1999, while the company organization was being finalized.[3] The goal was to create a utilitarian vehicle capable of carrying 10+ persons, using aluminum construction, short-field capability, and good useful load.[4] Large contributors to the Kodiak's STOL performance are a fixed, discontinuous leading edge on the outboard wing and the high performance Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34 turboprop engine of 750 hp (559 kW).

Passenger seats in the Kodiak are track-mounted and easily removed. It has standard access doors for pilot and co-pilot positions, with a clamshell door (48.5" × 50") in the aft fuselage for cargo loading or for access to the other eight passenger positions (the lower half of the clamshell door has automatically extending/retracting steps).

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]

Operational history

The first Kodiak was delivered to launch customer Spirit Air in January 2008.[7] As of September 2013 a total of 100 Kodiaks had been built, with the 100th aircraft being delivered to US operator Sunstate Aviation.[8] The Kodiak was designed for use by Mission societies and several aircraft have been delivered to organisations such as Mission Aviation Fellowship and JAARS.[9][10] Some of the Kodiaks built have been produced under Quest Aircraft's so-called Quest Mission Team (QMT) program.[10] The QMT program aims to sell one of every eleven Kodiaks built to a mission organisation at cost price.[10]

Variants

100
Basic model, FAA certificated on 31 May 2007.[11]
Air Claw
A surveillance modification by Northrop Grumman with a FLIR systems Star Saphire sensor and a Persistent Surveillance Systems Hawkeye wide area sensor.[12]

Operators

 United States
 Indonesia
 Papua New Guinea
 Canada
 Ecuador
 Panama
 India

Specifications

Data from Flying, February 2009;[19] FAA Type Certificate.[11][20]

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

References

  1. ↑ Evan Mortenson (28 January 2013). "Creating Kodiak". Aviation Week & Space Technology.
  2. ↑ Amy Butler (3 September 2012). "New Bedfellows". Aviation Week & Space Technology.
  3. ↑ AW & ST, Creating Kodiak
  4. ↑ Homepage, Quest Aircraft website
  5. ↑ Quest Aircraft, 21 June 2010. "Wipaire Announces Certification of Wipline 7000 Float for Quest KODIAK". Retrieved 30 November 2010.
  6. ↑ Grady, Mary "Kodiak Icing System FAA Certified", 29 November 2010. Retrieved 30 November 2010
  7. ↑ "Quest begins customer deliveries". Wings Magazine. January 28, 2008. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Kodiak centenarian goes to Sunstate". Flight International (Reed Business Information) 184 (5409): 24. 2013. ISSN 0015-3710.
  9. 1 2 "JAARS Takes Quest Kodiak Delivery". AINonline. Aviation International News. January 29, 2009. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
  10. 1 2 3 Pew, Glenn (August 10, 2010). "Quest Kodiak Fulfills Promise, Delivers Aircraft "At Cost"". AvWeb. Aviation Publishing Group. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
  11. 1 2 "TYPE CERTIFICATE DATA SHEET A00007SE, Rev. 15" (PDF). Department of Transportation – Federal Aviation Administration. 17 April 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  12. ↑ Amy Butler (3 September 2012). "New Bedfellows". Aviation Week and Space Technology.
  13. ↑ Grady, Mary (August 10, 2010). "Layoffs At Quest Aircraft, Despite Recent Sales". AvWeb. Aviation Publishing Group. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
  14. ↑ Rasmusson, Cameron (April 5, 2011). "RCMP buys Quest plane". Bonner County Daily Bee. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
  15. ↑ "#TameAmazonía - Twitter Search". Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  16. ↑ "Nicolás Larenas✈ on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  17. ↑ "Bienvenidos a Arrendamientos Aereos - Vuelos Charter Panama". Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  18. ↑ "Seabird Seaplane Private Ltd". Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  19. ↑ "Quest Kodiak". Flying: 40–45. February 2009.
  20. ↑ questaircraft.com/the-kodiak/specifications-option Quest website

External links

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