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Quest Aircraft Company is pleased to announce that it has delivered the 100th Kodiak aircraft. The customer accepted the aircraft during a special ceremony on Sept. 19, at the company’s headquarters in Sandpoint, Idaho.
“This delivery represents a major milestone in the history of Quest,” said Sam Hill, president and CEO. “Since the beginning, we have been committed to building a rugged, reliable aircraft that provides operators the versatility to accomplish any mission. We are proud to say that we now have 100 Kodiaks in service around the world, performing all types of operations.”
The 100th Kodiak was purchased by Sunstate Aviation of Phoenix, Ariz. Representatives of the company’s owner, Mike Watts, were on hand to accept delivery of their new Kodiak.
“The Kodiak is the perfect aircraft for us,” said Watts. “It has the performance capabilities I was looking for and a cabin with the right mix of personal comfort and space for baggage and other equipment that we need. I am looking forward to flying the Kodiak, and am especially delighted to be the owner of this 100th milestone airplane.”
“Quest has come a long way in a relatively short period of time,” added Hill. “We received FAA certification in May 2007, just two months after the first fully-conforming production aircraft made its initial flight. Today, we are certified in 12 countries, with additional certifications in process. Kodiaks are in service around the globe with charter operators, small businesses, personal owners, U.S. and international governments, and humanitarian organizations. We are delighted to welcome Sunstate Aviation to our family of customers.”
The Kodiak’s rugged aluminum construction combines superior STOL performance and high useful load. It offers proven turbine reliability with the Pratt & Whitney PT6A turbine engine, has the ability to land and take off from unimproved surfaces, and is capable of working off floats without structural upgrades. The Kodiak can take off in under 1,000 feet at full gross takeoff weight of 7,255 lbs, and climb at over 1,300 feet per minute. A three-panel Garmin G1000 integrated avionics suite including Synthetic Vision Technology is standard equipment on the Kodiak.
