Daher Kodiak 900

Located at the tip of northern Idaho, Sandpoint is one of those majestic places where water meets mountains and mountains meet sky—a place where creativity flourishes and where the inspired are constitutionally incapable of leaving well enough alone. Especially when it comes to aircraft. 

This is where the late Dr. Forrest Bird, the medical device inventor and aviator, was never quite happy with the performance of his fleet of personal aircraft—so he developed over 50 FAA-approved supplemental type certificate modifications (STCs) to make them better. It is where Tamarack Aerospace builds its active winglet system, which dramatically boosts the performance of light business jets. And it is where more than two decades ago, Quest Aerospace began manufacturing the legendary Kodiak 100 single-engine turboprop. 

Conceived by kit-plane designer Tom Hamilton in the late 1990s, the Kodiak is specifically made to get in and out of tight spots under harsh conditions, originally to meet the needs of missionaries on relief flights in Africa and Asia. Those flights were once served by a variety of aging piston-engine aircraft, but in many foreign markets fuel for those aircraft is becoming scarce and unreasonably costly, whereas the jet-A fuel used in jets and turboprops is globally ubiquitous. 

The first-generation Kodiak gained FAA certification in 2007 and a variety of design iterations and improvements have been made over the years, including the installation of modern Garmin glass-panel avionics; better fit, finish, and door function; a quieter cabin with a greater choice of interior layouts; and a plethora of options covering everything from air conditioning to amphibious floats for water operations. To date, more than 320 have been delivered, with the original list price of $1.1 million growing to $2.7 million by 2022. 

Daher Takes Over

Like most light aircraft manufacturers, Quest has encountered financial challenges along its journey. Those appear to have ended when, in 2019, it was acquired by Daher, the French manufacturer of the TBM series of fast single-engine business turboprops. Daher renamed the company Kodiak Aircraft and is growing the production line in Sandpoint. The TBM and the Kodiak share a variety of suppliers, including Pratt & Whitney Canada for engines, Hartzell for propellers, and Garmin for avionics. 

Daher made the acquisition after Textron Aviation announced in 2015 that it would compete in the fast single-engine turboprop space with the Beechcraft Denali, which remains under development. Daher specializes in building low-rate production niche aircraft with unique performance capabilities that command premium prices. With a fast cruising speed of 330 knots, its latest version of the TBM rivals some light jets in terms of speed and far exceeds them in range. 

In that vein, last summer Daher unveiled the $3.5 million Kodiak 900, a larger, faster version of the 100. Compared with the original, the 900 cruises 36 knots faster (210 knots) and has a fuselage stretch of 3.9 feet, enabling greater useful loads. It offers a 745-pound increase in maximum takeoff weight, a useful load increase of 100 pounds, and a rate of climb at sea level that is 400-feet-per-minute faster than the original model’s performance. Heavily loaded, the 900 climbs to 12,000 feet in just 11 minutes. 

Cabin volume increases from 248 to 309 cubic feet. The extra cabin space allows for the installation of an eight-place, double-club executive configuration. The seats can be quickly and easily changed to provide more cargo space. While the 900, like the 100, is unpressurized, various features give the cabin more of a business jet feel, including standard air conditioning and a two-zone heating and cooling environmental control system. The aircraft can climb to 25,000 feet with standard supplemental oxygen for up to two pilots and 10 passengers. The wingspan remains the same at 45 feet. A TKS “weeping wing” anti-icing system is optional. The 900 adds the convenience feature of single-point refueling. 

Speed and Versatility

The 900’s extra speed comes from a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 engine that delivers 150 more shaft horsepower and a variety of aerodynamic cleanups, including the addition of wheel pants, which are designed for rough-field operations. You cannot fit larger tires or floats onto the aircraft. Underbelly cargo pods for both models have the same capacity, but the design of the one on the 900 can accommodate outsized items such as skis and golf clubs. A five-bladed composite Hartzell propeller turns slower and is quieter. Up front, the 900 retains the 100’s Garmin G1000NXi avionics, enabling easy pilot transition between the two models. While not a short-field superstar like the 100, the 900 is no slouch either, easily capable of using strips that are only 1,500 feet long. 

It would be an oversimplification to tout the 900 as a credible challenger to Cessna’s long-running Caravan series of single-engine utility turboprops, particularly the Grand Caravan EX, which carries a 2023 base price of just over $2.7 million. Textron Aviation delivered 60 of those last year alone and 3,000 Caravan family aircraft since 1985. While the Grand Caravan is 25 knots slower, its cabin in 29 inches longer and a full 10 inches wider than the 900’s, accommodating three-abreast passenger seating in utility configuration. Unlike the 900, the Grand Caravan also is available on amphibious floats. However, the 900’s useful load tops the Grand Caravan’s by 98 pounds, and it can use slightly shorter runways. 

This begs a question: Will customers pay a nearly $800,000 premium for an aircraft that in many ways is comparable to a Grand Caravan but is 25 knots faster? The answer appears to be yes. Daher, which expects to start deliveries this summer, says production of the 900 is sold out for the next two years. 

While the aircraft is faster than the Caravan and the original Kodiak, “it doesn’t go fast” compared with, say, a TBM, admitted Kodiak Aircraft CEO Nicolas Chabbert. “But,” he added, “it can go just about anywhere.” 

And that includes the marvelously wild and rakish landscape around Sandpoint. 

2023 Daher Kodiak 900 at a Glance

Engine: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-140A, 900 shaft hp

Avionics: Garmin G1000NXi 

Crew: 1–2 

Passengers: 9–10 

Maximum cruising speed: 210 kt

Range: 1,129 nm (@ 156 kt, no reserve)

Service ceiling: 25,000 ft (with supplemental oxygen) 

Useful load: 3,630 lb 

Maximum takeoff weight: 8,000 lb

Takeoff distance: 1,015 ft 

Cabin: 4 ft 9 in (H), 4 ft 6 in (W), 18 ft 11 in (L), 309 cu ft (V)