Daher Kodiak 100

The Kodiak 100 is a purpose-built STOL utility turboprop designed from a clean sheet to replace aging de Havilland Beavers and Cessna Caravans in demanding bush and mission operations. Tom Hamilton (founder of Stoddard-Hamilton/Glasair) and David Voetmann launched the project under Idaho Air Group in 1999, forming Quest Aircraft Company in 2001. The Kodiak first flew in October 2004 and earned FAA Part 23 certification in May 2007, with the first delivery to Spirit Air in January 2008. Setouchi Holdings bought Quest in 2015, and French aerospace group Daher acquired the program in October 2019, folding it alongside the TBM line as Daher's second turboprop product family.

This page describes the Kodiak 100 only. FAA TCDS A00007SE also covers a Section II model, "Kodiak 200" — per the certificate's own NOTE 5, that is the FAA's designation for the airplane Daher markets as the "Kodiak 900": a different, heavier airplane (PT6A-140A, 900 hp, 8,000 lb MTOW against this page's PT6A-34, 750 hp, 7,255 lb) covered as its own family entry, not on this page.

The airplane is built around the 750 SHP Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34 — the same engine family found on the Cessna Caravan, de Havilland Twin Otter, and Air Tractor — paired with a Hartzell five-blade composite prop (current production; earlier airframes shipped with a four-blade unit), a robust 7,255 lb fixed-gear airframe, and a flat-floor cargo cabin big enough for ten track-mounted seats or 3,123 lb of useful load (Daher's own current figure — see Performance Notes for how this changed from an earlier, untraceable 3,485 lb). A discontinuous leading-edge cuff improves stall behavior at high angles of attack, and the airplane routinely operates off 1,000 ft unimproved strips at gross weight. Roughly 339 Kodiaks had been delivered by early 2024, with customers including Mission Aviation Fellowship, JAARS, the U.S. Forest Service, Papua New Guinea operators, Part 135 freight carriers, and a growing personal-use owner base. Quest's original "Quest Mission Team" program sold every 11th aircraft at cost to a mission organization; Daher has continued supporting mission operators while expanding the product with the Series II (2018) and Series III (2021) and the stretched, faster Kodiak 900 (2022).

All Kodiak 100 variants share the same wing, gear, and 750 SHP PT6A-34. The Kodiak 900 is covered as a separate family entry.

This page's stored cruise/range pair (174 KTAS, 1,005 nm) is Daher's own "max cruise speed at 12,000 ft" row, paired with the range figure flown at that SAME speed and altitude (ISA, MTOW, 45 min reserve, no cargo pod) — the correct rule-3 pairing. Daher separately publishes a "max range" cruise setting of 135 KTAS covering 1,132 nm under the same conditions, and a plain, unconditioned "Max Cruise Speed: 183 KTS" headline figure with no stated altitude — that 183/1,132 pairing is what an earlier pass of this page stored, mixing the unconditioned headline speed with the ECONOMY setting's range, a mismatched triple. No gph figure is published anywhere on Daher's current Kodiak 100 page, and an hours-to-fly figure alongside each range row is internally transposed between rows (see the mfr passage) — fuel_burn_gph is left unsourced rather than backed out of a source already shown to have a shifted column. With 315 gallons usable, the Kodiak still has real transcontinental legs when lightly loaded. The PT6A-34 is flat-rated, so it holds 750 SHP well into the flight levels — sea-level climb is 1,340 fpm (Daher, matches the previously-stored figure); no altitude-specific climb table was found this session, so the previously-quoted "~867 fpm through 10,000 ft" is not independently re-verified.

STOL numbers are the marquee figure: Daher's own current spec page gives a 934 ft takeoff ground roll and 765 ft landing ground roll at max gross (sea level, ISA) — labeled "ground roll" by Daher itself, not an over-50-ft obstacle distance, which is not separately published (a prior pass of this page filed the 934 ft figure under takeoff_over_50ft_ft instead; corrected — see validator_exempt). Real-world operators regularly land and depart from 700-800 ft strips with a partial load. The discontinuous leading edge cuff gives very docile stall characteristics and predictable aileron authority down into the 60 KCAS stall-speed region (Daher's own Vs0 figure, flaps down). On floats (Aerocet 6650 amphibs), Daher's own page shows a real cruise penalty (174 KTAS lands at 162 KTAS on floats) and a corresponding range reduction, consistent with the previously-noted "10-12 KTAS penalty" — that figure is retained as a reasonable characterization of Daher's own float-equipped numbers rather than independently re-verified.

Recomputed with Daher's current figures (315 gal usable / 2,111 lb fuel, 3,123 lb useful load — see Performance Notes for the empty-weight correction this flows from):

• Full fuel + useful load: 3,123 lb useful − 2,111 lb fuel = 1,012 lb cabin payload — roughly five 180 lb adults with light bags, or a pilot plus 850 lb of freight, flying 1,005 nm at the 174 KTAS cruise setting Daher pairs with that range (see Performance Notes).
• Full seats (10 x 180 lb + pilot): 1,980 lb cabin weight → leaves 1,143 lb for fuel = ~171 gallons, a shorter-legs configuration at max cruise.
• Max cargo hauler (1 pilot + ~2,943 lb freight): zero passenger weight; a modest fuel margin requires short legs or partial fuel.
• Bush strip short-leg config (½ fuel + full seats): enables operation from 700-800 ft strips with a partial pax load, the mission the airplane was designed for — see Performance Notes for the sourced ground-roll figures (not to be read as an over-50-ft distance).

Compared to the Cessna 208 Caravan (similar engine, similar useful load, but heavier empty weight and slower cruise), the Kodiak trades about 8-10 KTAS cruise for better short-field numbers and a more modern airframe. The Pilatus PC-12 offers pressurization, ~270 KTAS cruise, and 1,800+ nm range for roughly twice the acquisition cost and a significantly higher operating budget, but concedes unimproved-strip capability. The Cessna 185 Skywagon is the piston-single comparator at one-quarter the price, but with half the useful load, a third the cabin volume, and none of the turbine reliability.

See Backcountry / Bush Flying mission scoring for where the Kodiak sits in the overall STOL utility hierarchy, and MOSAIC (Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certification) for why turbine singles sit entirely outside the MOSAIC light-aircraft framework.

• Backcountry/bush (10): The Kodiak's reason to exist. STOL distances, big tires, high ground clearance, tough trailing-link gear, turbine reliability, and massive cargo door make it a category leader alongside the Caravan and PC-6.
• Cargo hauling (10): 3,123 lb useful load (Daher's current figure), flat floor, 53x49 inch cargo door, optional belly pod (+63 cu ft), and ten-seat convertibility put it in the top tier for single-engine freight.
• Surveying (9): Stable platform, turbine reliability, plenty of electrical power, long endurance, belly pod and camera port STCs. Only loses to the PC-12 on altitude/speed.
• Business travel (8): 174 KTAS cruise (183 KTAS unconditioned headline figure) and a 25,000 ft certificated max operating altitude with G1000 NXi are solid; no pressurization is the main limitation versus a PC-12 or TBM for long legs.
• Cross-country (8): Range and reliability are there; speed trails pressurized competitors, and oxygen required above FL125 for crew.
• Flight training (2): Turbine complexity, acquisition cost, and fuel burn make it impractical for primary or instrument training; used only for turbine transition and type-specific training.
• Local fun flying (3): Overbuilt and expensive to operate for pleasure flying; owners who use it this way typically combine it with utility missions.
• Aerobatics (1): Not certified for aerobatics.

Every Kodiak 100 shipped from the factory with Garmin G1000 (2007-2017), then G1000 NXi (Series II onward). Typical panel includes dual GDU 1040/1045 PFD/MFD displays, GFC 700 autopilot with yaw damper, dual GIA 63W nav/com/GPS, GWX 70/75 radar, GTS 820/825 traffic, synthetic vision (SVT), TAWS-B, GDL 69A XM weather, and ADS-B in/out. Series III introduced a reorganized cockpit layout with improved switch logic and CAS annunciations.

Common aftermarket additions include Garmin GWX 8000 StormOptix radar upgrades, GI 275 standby, Spectralux DCU-200 datalink, and L3 LYNX multilink transponders for commercial ops. Mission operators often add JAARS/MAF-specific cargo management electronics, satellite tracking (Spider, Iridium), and HF radio.

• Aerocet 6650 amphibious floats — ~$350,000 installed; ~10 KTAS cruise penalty; ~750 lb useful load reduction; water rudders and retractable gear for land/water ops.
• Wipaire Wipline 7000 floats — competing float option, similar penalty and capability.
• Belly cargo pod — factory and aftermarket; +63 cu ft, ~100 lb weight penalty, ~2 KTAS cruise penalty; standard on most freight operators.
• Oxygen system — built-in or portable for FL180-250 operations.
• Garmin GWX 8000 radar upgrade — ~$45,000-60,000 installed.
• Texas Turbine Conversions / Blackhawk XP42A upgrade — limited availability; aftermarket engine upgrades are less common on the Kodiak than on the Caravan since the PT6A-34 is already well-matched.
• Camera port / survey mods — mission-specific, priced per installation.

Daher supports the Kodiak through the Sandpoint, Idaho factory (inherited from Quest) and a global authorized service center network. Parts availability is good — Daher has continued investment and the Kodiak Care program (Series III) bundles scheduled maintenance into a fixed hourly rate, which many operators favor for budgeting. PT6A-34 support is universal: any PT6 shop (Standard Aero, Covington, Dallas Airmotive, H+S Aviation, P&WC-owned facilities) can overhaul, hot-section, or warranty-service the engine.

Typical annual inspection runs $8,000-$15,000 labor plus parts, with heavier phase inspections (every 600-1,200 hours depending on schedule) running significantly more. Hourly maintenance reserve is commonly budgeted at $150-$200/hr including engine reserves; P&WCSMART flat-rate PT6A-34 overhauls start around $319,000, and hot-section work runs $180,000-$230,000. Mechanics familiar with the specific Kodiak airframe are concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, and mission-operator hubs — outside those areas expect to ferry for heavy maintenance.

Annual operating cost for an owner-flown 200 hr/year Kodiak typically lands in the $150,000-$220,000 range all-in, depending on fuel price, insurance, and reserves.

See Maintenance Ecosystem for turboprop maintenance networks.

Kodiak 100 values are driven primarily by engine time since overhaul (TSOH/TSHSI), airframe total time, avionics generation (G1000 vs G1000 NXi vs Series III panel), and whether the airplane is on floats.

• Original Kodiak 100 (2008-2013), mid-time engine, G1000: $1.8M-$2.2M
• Kodiak 100 (2014-2017), lower time: $2.2M-$2.6M
• Kodiak 100 Series II (2018-2020): $2.4M-$2.9M
• Kodiak 100 Series III (2021-2024), late model used: $2.9M-$3.4M
• New Kodiak 100 Series III (factory): ~$2.8M-$3.2M base, ~$3.6M typically equipped
• Kodiak 900 (reference): ~$3.5M-$4.0M new

Floats add $250k-$400k depending on condition. Fresh engine overhaul or zero-time hot section can add $150k-$300k. Commercial Part 135 pedigree with complete logs commands a premium with freight/mission buyers.

See Aircraft Valuation Methodology and Avionics Pricing Reference for detailed adjustment formulas.

• Flap actuator / flap track wear — recurring maintenance item; regular lubrication and inspection in manufacturer schedule.
• Main gear trailing-link pivot bushings — high wear item on rough-strip operators; inspect at annual.
• Fuel selector valve and fuel system leaks — several service bulletins over the program; verify compliance.
• Rudder / elevator trim actuator — SBs on older serial numbers.
• G1000 software currency — keep LRUs on current Garmin software to maintain LPV and ADS-B compliance.
• Engine hot-section condition — PT6A-34 HSI at 1,800 hours, TBO at 4,000 hours. Condition-based extensions possible with borescope data.
• Corrosion on floatplanes — aggressive inspection required; salt-water ops significantly shorten airframe life.

No catastrophic recurring ADs; the Kodiak has a relatively clean certification history compared to legacy bush airplanes.

Turbine single insurance is heavily pilot-driven. Typical Kodiak 100 hull premiums run $15,000-$25,000 annually for experienced turbine pilots with 500+ turbine hours and a current type-specific training signoff. Liability is typically $1M smooth or $1M/$100k per-seat sublimit. Owners transitioning from piston singles face underwriting friction — most insurers require SIMCOM or FlightSafety Kodiak-specific initial training, 25+ hours dual, and a mentor-pilot period. Float operations, commercial use, and bush strip ops all add premium load. Hull values of $2.5M-$3M are typical on the market today.

See GA Insurance Underwriting for turboprop insurance categories.