S/N 008 Begins Eight-Month Journey To Papua New Guinea

Those who have followed Quest Aircraft's... well, quest... to bring its single-engine Kodiak turboprop to market know the plane was designed with mission and humanitarian organizations in mind. Last week, the first Kodiak to be placed in service with just such a group was turned over to David Reeves, president of JAARS Inc.

The Kodiak was developed to give groups operating in undeveloped areas a heavy-lift platform, to replace aging (and AvGas-fueled) aircraft now in service with such organizations. The 10-place aircraft offers a 3,100 pound useful load, and short take-off capabilities.

JAARS was established in 1948 by Wycliffe Bible Translators co-founder William Cameron Townsend to provide aviation and technology services to support Bible translation.

"With 2,000 translation programs currently underway worldwide and almost 2,400 languages still needing Bible translations to be started, we looked into the future of aviation for a safe, effective solution to our passengers' unique transportation requirements," said Reeves. "The Kodiak is well-poised to meet the challenging needs of the translation community in remote operations."

The JAARS Kodiak, serial number 8, will provide access to many of the people who live in Papua New Guinea's rugged mountains and remote coastal areas. Wycliffe translators and national coworkers are working in partnership on 190 different language projects in Papua New Guinea.

Following an introductory tour of the US, and a period of orientation for JAARS pilots and final preparations, the first JAARS Kodiak will play a prominent role in the Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture event in Oshkosh, WI July 27 to August 2, 2009.The eight month schedule of US-based duties will conclude with the aircraft being flown to Papua New Guinea in August.

Delivery of S/N 008 comes just shy of one year after Quest delivered the first customer aircraft, as ANN reported.

FMI: www.questaircraft.com, www.jaars.org