French manufacturer Daher yesterday announced a new Kodiak single-engined turbo-prop with greater capacity and a higher top speed.
The Kodiak 900 is 1200 mm longer than it's predecessor Kodiak 100, and at 210 KTAS is 27 knots faster. The new aircraft was unveiled at Airventure in Oshkosh.
“This is another answer to the commitment of enhancing sustainability and improving the carbon footprint of general aviation,” explained Nicolas Chabbert, the Senior Vice President of Daher’s Aircraft Division.
“The Kodiak 900 is in a category of its own: a highly versatile unpressurised utility turbo-prop airplane that can carry impressive payloads while cruising comfortably at 210 kt in refined luxury.”
Daher selected the new Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-140A for the Kodiak 900, which puts out 900 shp and uses 9% less fuel that the -34 turbine fitted to the Kodiak 100.The -140A was was built for the utility aircraft market and optimised for demanding conditions and good “hot and high” performance.
The new type has a maximum range of 1129 nm at 156 KTAS at 12,000 feet, consuming 136 lph. At a maximum speed of 210 KTAS, that range is reduced to 969 nm and the fuel consumption increases to 220 gph.
US.Federal Aviation Administration issued the type certificate for the Kodiak 900 only five days ago.
“Today’s official unveiling of the Kodiak 900 underscores the Daher parent company’s firm commitment to the constant improvement of its aircraft product line,” added Daher CEO Didier Kayat. “It follows our launch of the latest TBM family member–the TBM 960–just three months ago.”
Both the Kodiak 900 and Kodiak 100 Series III are produced at Daher's factory in Sandpoint, Idaho, where Quest Aircraft began developing the Kodiak 900 in 2016 before Daher bought the company in 2019.
Daher expects to start delivering the first Kodiak 900s in 2023.