Quest Aircraft
An Idaho start-up set out to build the ideal aircraft for missionary pilots, gave every eleventh one away at cost, and ended up selling the Kodiak to the French.
Quest Aircraft: the company and the aircraft that made its name
A plane for the mission field
Quest began with a cause. In 1998 Tom Hamilton and David Voetmann founded the Idaho Air Group, convinced that humanitarian and missionary pilots flying from rough jungle and mountain strips needed an aircraft designed for them. Quest Aircraft launched in 2001 in Sandpoint, Idaho, with a staff of 14, and its designer Evan Mortenson’s turboprop, the Kodiak, first flew on 16 October 2004.
Every eleventh aircraft
The Kodiak is a rugged single-engined STOL utility aircraft, certified by the FAA on 31 May 2007 and first delivered in January 2008; the mission aviation group JAARS took one in early 2009. Under its Quest Mission Team programme the company aimed to sell one in every eleven Kodiaks to a mission organisation at cost price. Floats, icing clearance and European certification followed, and by 2021, 300 had been delivered.
From Idaho to Daher
Business was bumpier. The workforce reached 340 in 2009, then fell to 155 in 2010 before new capital arrived. In February 2015 Quest’s Japanese dealer, Setouchi Holdings of the Tsuneishi Group, bought the company, and in 2019 Setouchi sold it to France’s Daher, maker of the TBM. The deal closed by 1 October 2019; Quest was renamed Kodiak Aircraft and absorbed into Daher, which continues to build the type.
Quest Aircraft in numbers
Het bedrijf
- Kortom
- Opgericht in 2001
- Grew from the Idaho Air Group of 1998
- Founded by Tom Hamilton and David Voetmann
- Owned by Setouchi Holdings 2015–2019
Productie
- Het meest bekend om
- Kodiak 100
- Sole product: the Kodiak STOL turboprop
- 300 delivered by 2021
Vandaag
- Nu
- Part of Daher since 2019
- Renamed Kodiak Aircraft, then absorbed by Daher
The Kodiak remains in production under Daher.
De cijfers
- Medewerkers
- 3402009
- Medewerkers
- 1842015
- Kodiaks delivered
- 3002021
- Main facility
- 110,000 sq ft2016
Every notable Quest Aircraft aircraft
| Vliegtuig | Rol | Eerste vlucht | Gebouwd | Status | Opmerking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quest Kodiak 100 | STOL-turboprop voor nutsbedrijven | 2004 | 300 (by 2021) | In productie | FAA certified 31 May 2007; EASA 2017 |
Where Quest Aircraft built, who led it, what it achieved
Fabrieken
- Sandpoint works · Sandpoint, Idaho — 27,000 sq ft in 2002, expanded to 110,000 sq ft in 2016
Mensen
- Tom Hamilton • medeoprichter
- David Voetmann • medeoprichter
- Evan Mortenson · designer of the Kodiak
- Paul Schaller · CEO from 2004
- Sam Hill · CEO 2012–2017
Quest Aircraft, year by year
Idaho Air Group founded by Hamilton and Voetmann
Quest Aircraft launches with 14 staff
Kodiak first flight
Kodiak FAA type certificate
First Kodiak delivery
Bought by Setouchi Holdings
EASA certification
Daher announces acquisition
Deal complete; Quest becomes Kodiak Aircraft
Before and after Quest Aircraft
Everything people ask about Quest Aircraft
Who makes the Kodiak now?
Why was the Kodiak designed?
Where was Quest Aircraft based?
Who owned Quest before Daher?
Around Quest Aircraft
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Geverifieerd op 3 oktober 2026.