Daher Kodiak 100 vs Pilatus PC-12
Head-to-head — specs, at a glance.
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iDaher 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.
- +Class-leading STOL performance (sub-1000 ft ground roll at gross weight)
- +Robust PT6A-34 turbine reliability with universal maintenance network
- +3,500 lb useful load and flat-floor cargo door for mission flexibility
- !No pressurization limits cross-country comfort and speed versus PC-12/TBM competitors
- !High operating cost (~$150k–$220k annually at 200 hr/yr) favors mission/commercial use over personal flying
- !Specialized maintenance ecosystem concentrated in Pacific Northwest and Alaska; heavy work requires ferry outside those hubs
Pilatus PC-12
The Pilatus PC-12 is a single-engine pressurized turboprop built in Stans, Switzerland, and is the benchmark owner-flown turbine in general aviation. Announced at NBAA 1989, it received Swiss certification on March 30, 1994, and FAA certification on July 15, 1994. With more than 2,000 airframes delivered (the 1,000th in June 2010), it is the best-selling pressurized single-engine turboprop in history. It combines a 330-cubic-foot King Air-class cabin, a signature aft cargo door, a 10,450 lb MTOW, single-pilot certification, and a PT6A up front. Owner-flown business operators, Part 135 charters (PlaneSense, Surf Air, Tradewind), fractionals, cargo feeders, EMS, skydiving operators, and military ISR users (U-28A) all fly it. It is frequently called "the Suburban of the sky" for its combination of payload, range, unimproved-field capability, and cabin versatility. Cross-reference daher-tbm for the speed-focused alternative, cessna-208-caravan and daher-kodiak-100 for unpressurized utility turbines, and beechcraft-king-air-90-200 for the twin-engine peer.
- +Gold-standard single-engine turbine for owner-flown business travel; jet-class cabin, 1,800 nm range, FL300 pressurized
- +Exceptional parts availability and factory support; Pilatus ships spares 24–48 hours from Colorado
- +Signature cargo door and payload flexibility; proven in charter, cargo feeder, and ISR operations
- !High fixed and operating costs (~$900–1,300/hr DOC, $300–450k/yr fixed); poor fit for low-utilization owners
- !Requires Pilatus-authorized service center for major inspections; only ~30 in North America; independent A&Ps limited to line maintenance
- !PT6A mid-life hot-section inspection at 1,750 hr is expensive ($85–150k) and commonly missed; engine TBO creep adds overhaul cost pressure
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