Wed, Nov 02, 2022
Waterfowl all over North America may soon have to get used to a new abut increasingly familiar sight... that of a massive Quest Aircraft Kodiak Turbo-Prop... and airplane chosen by the US Fish and Wildlife Service to conduct surveys and monitoring under the watchful of our department of the Interior, in cooperation with other affected nations.
This aircraft will operate far from home, often in remote areas and have to cover a lot of ground... and on land or water, the Kodiak seems like the ideal aircraft for one of the most demanding missions in the world.
Early in 2008, Quest Aircraft Company delivered its first customer Kodiak turboprop, to launch depositor Spirit Air... marking the company's latest step in its transition from an aircraft developer, to a full-fledged planemaker.
The completed aircraft was delivered to Spirit Air in a presentation ceremony in late January, at the company’s headquarters in Sandpoint, ID. Spirit Air was the lead commercial customer for the Kodiak when the company began taking deposits in May 2005.
As ANN has reported, the Kodiak received FAA Type Certification on May 30 of last year. Quest says it continues to work with the FAA to achieve its production certificate, at which point the company hopes to make progress against what is currently a three-year delivery backlog.
Quest states the all-aluminum Kodiak combines superior STOL performance and high useful load. Powered by a single Pratt & Whitney PT6 turbine engine, the Kodiak is capable of working 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 3,325 lbs and climb at over 1,700 feet per minute.
A three-screen G1000 integrated avionics suite is standard equipment on the Kodiak. Quest notes they were the first installation in a turboprop aircraft of the popular G1000 (Cessna has since followed with its own G1000 installation in the Caravan.)
More News
07.25.24: King Schools Expansion, Avilution Update, Gogo Communicates!, Pelton Int'vw-Part 4 The annual Meet The Administrator event was not what we hoped for. The Administrator di>[...]
07.25.24: King Schools Expansion, Avilution Update, Gogo Communicates!, Pelton Int'vw-Part 4 The annual Meet The Administrator event was not what we hoped for. The Administrator di>[...]
Aero Linx: United Flying Octogenarians Who are the United Flying Octogenarians (UFO)? We are an international group of more than 1700 pilots who have acted as a certificated PIC on>[...]
How To Get A Story On Aero-TV News/Feature Programming How do I submit a story idea or lead to Aero-TV? If you would like to submit a story idea or lead, please contact Jim Campbel>[...]
07.23.24: VerdeGo Powers Up, Frecce Tricolori, Pelton Int'vw - Part 2: MOSAIC!!!! They flew the Samson Sky earlier this year… and the data is yielding some exciting updates >[...]
Airborne Oshkosh24 Day 4: Meet The Admin--NOT, MOSAIC For Osh25?, Med Logjam
See All