Utility Turboprop Approved For Day/Night, Single-Pilot
VFR/IFR
Some very good news for Quest Aircraft Company, as we count down
the days leading up to Oshkosh 2007. The Sandpoint, ID manufacturer
told ANN Wednesday the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has
granted type certification (TC) to its 10-place Kodiak
aircraft.
The receipt of TC A00007SE for the clean-sheet design airplane
comes 32 months after the first flight of the Kodiak prototype, and
just two-and-a-half months after first flight of the first fully-conforming
Kodiak. The TC includes single-pilot operation for
both visual and instrument flight rules (VFR/IFR) and day and night
operations.
"We are very grateful for the dedicated team of Quest employees
and suppliers who worked together to accomplish this remarkable
milestone," said Paul Schaller, Quest Aircraft's President and CEO.
"They have worked tirelessly to make the vision for the Kodiaka
reality. We appreciate as well the hard work on the part of the FAA
in helping us bring this project to fruition."
Quest says the Kodiak's aluminum construction combines superior
STOL performance and high useful load. Powered by a Pratt &
Whitney PT6 turbine engine, the aircraft is capable of operating
off floats without structural upgrades, and has the ability to land
on unimproved surfaces. The Kodiak can take off in under 700 feet
at full gross takeoff weight of 6,750 lbs with a useful load of
3,450 lbs, and climb at over 1,700 feet per minute.
The popular three-panel Garmin G1000 integrated avionics suite
is standard equipment on the Kodiak.
"As we moved through the certification process, the Kodiak met
or exceeded every program milestone," said Schaller. "The Kodiak
was designed with and for mission and humanitarian aviation
organizations to perform under extremely rigorous conditions in the
most remote regions of the world so the bar was set high. During
both Quest's and the FAA's testing, we pushed the envelope and are
pleased that the airplane successfully achieved the desired
performance."
The Kodiak prototype has logged over 1,000 hours of flight time
and s/n 001, the first fully conforming production aircraft, has
flown several hundred hours since entering the flight test program.
As the Kodiak completed the final testing for certification, the
production and assembly work has accelerated. Serial number 002,
the first aircraft to be delivered to a customer, is currently on
the production line and will be rolling off later this quarter.
Quest reports strong market reaction to the aircraft among
personal use owners, Part 135 operations, government, and
humanitarian organizations. Customer orders have exceeded
expectations and the company has a three-year backlog -- which it
is working to bring down as production ramps up.