Specialist Design

Quest Kodiak: born and bred for the backcountry

In aircraft design, beauty is more than skin deep. While some airframes are particularly aesthetically pleasing, many hide their strengths beneath aerodynamic fairings or engine cowlings and only on closer inspection is their true purpose revealed. The Quest Kodiak is a classic case study of this fact.

Conception

Before pen was ever put to paper, the Kodiak was conceived with a very specific role in mind. The aircraft was to serve humanitarian aid groups in the field and therefore called for short takeoff and landing (STOL) performance as a critical requirement. Furthermore, as many of these groups operated in remote and relatively inaccessible regions, the Kodiak would not only have to operate on unsealed runways but into areas where there was no runway at all. And overly complex systems would also be a disadvantage, as spare parts and support may be many miles away.