kodiak: plus-size amphib

A SEAPLANE PILOTS ASSOCIATION PUBLICATION • NO. 201
JAN/FEB 2014
KODIAK: PLUS-SIZE AMPHIB
A Plus-size
Dream Airplane
The Quest Kodiak Takes to the Water
on Aerocet Floats
Story by Mike Kincaid
L
ike a Kodiak Brown Bear attacking its
unsuspecting prey, the Quest Kodiak
powerfully leaps forward on its new
Aerocet amphibs. Lightly loaded, the
big plane eagerly jumps into the air
2014 2013
WaterFlying
FlyingJanuary/February
November/December
2 Water
16
in about a dozen seconds. That’s
impressive, especially since we were
taking off from the glassy waters of
a river at an elevation of more than
2100 feet MSL. Even more so, this was
173
January/February
2014Water
Water
Flying
November/December
2013
Flying
W
ho wouldn’t love a set of pontoons that
not only gets your plane off the water
quicker, but also has zero corrosion
issues and rarely needs pumping.
not a maneuver performed by a pro
highly experienced in the airplane, but
the first takeoff by a pilot new to the
Quest Kodiak.
Although the Quest factory is only
40 miles from my house, and my good
friend Dave Schuck is on the staff, it was
a few years after the company’s startup before I dropped by during a seaplane-training lesson. Dave showed me
around the 80,000-square-foot facility,
introducing me to some of the dedicated
staff who were intently crafting away on
Kodiaks in various stages of production.
Since I didn’t have my checkbook
with me I couldn’t plunk down a deposit
on one right then and there, as I wound
have liked. But when an airport neighbor, Mike Watts, took delivery last fall of
serial number 100, I just had to fly one.
Fortunately, Tom Hamilton, one of the
founders of Quest — and the owner of
Aerocet — agreed to dazzle me with a
demo flight. Even better, Tom followed
up the demo with dual instruction from
the man who most likely holds the
title of having the most hours flying a
Kodiak on floats.
IT IS ROCKET
SCIENCE
As the founder of Stoddard-Hamilton
in 1979, Tom designed and manufactured the composite Glasair, a 400-mph
single-engine beauty. He sold the company to his employees in 1986, and started a new corporation called Aerocet that
built missiles for the Navy. Even though
the military contract was completed on
time and within budget, Tom didn’t see
the fun in dealing with overwhelming
bureaucratic hassles.
Thinking there had to be a more
enjoyable way to make a living in the
aviation industry, Tom bought out his
partners and decided to use the Aerocet
name for floats instead of warheads.
But first, he designed and developed the
Glastar (now called the Sportsman) with
his former partner, Ted Setzer. Taking
one employee and the Aerocet float
company with him, Tom relocated to
the beautiful mountains of far northern
Idaho in the early 1990s, setting up shop
in Priest River.
Having flown Aerocets on a Super
Cub and Cessna 185s, I’m a big fan of
the composite construction and hydrodynamic design, which make for a solid
performing float for all conditions. Who
wouldn’t love a set of pontoons that not
only gets your plane off the water quicker, but also has zero corrosion issues
and rarely needs pumping? As for their
toughness, I reported in the Sept/Oct
2006 edition of Water Flying of a C-185
capsizing off Kodiak Island. The plane
sank, but the floats were found months
later, 650 miles away. After a little cleaning, the undamaged Aerocets were put
back to work on an Alaskan Cessna 206.
With his aircraft design and building
At the 2013 AirVenture Oshkosh,
members of the Mission Aviaiton
Fellowship (MAF) blessed the
Kodiak. MAF is just one of several
missionary organizations that has
or will take delivery of a Kodiak.
4 Water Flying
January/February 2014
January/February 2014
Water Flying
5
caption
The author holds up his cell phone to show the results of the timed takeoff run on the water. Tom Hamilton is in
the left seat.
experience, Tom teamed with David
Voetmann in 1998 to form the Idaho
Air Group, and eventually Quest. David
brought with him more than 40 years of
flying, plus he knew how to raise funds
for humanitarian organizations. Bruce
Kennedy, retired Alaska Airlines CEO,
joined the Quest Board of Directors as
Chairman, and the not-so-small task
of obtaining startup capital began in
May 2001. Like many aviation ventures,
Quest has had its ups and downs, but
today it’s a solid and progressive company. One fun fact: the altruistic purpose of
the company is to continue to fund one
Kodiak for missionary work for every
10 sold.
Since the first Kodiak rolled out of
the Sandpoint, Idaho, factory in 2007,
it’s become known for its rugged performance, reliability, and customer support. That’s in harmony with the genesis of the Kodiak, which fulfilled the
need for a modern aircraft to serve both
humanitarian missions and commercial
operations. Mission planes serve South
Africa, Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Brazil,
6 Water Flying
January/February 2014
The Kodiak’s spacious panel accommodates a full suite of Garmin electronic flight, navigation, and instrument displays. Options include Nexrad weather, Stormscope, collision avoidance, and electronic charts, among other goodies.
BACK-SEAT
DRIVER
The 7300-pound Kodiak is powered by a 750-shp Pratt & Whitney turboprop
with reversing prop.
Big bear rudder pedals, an appropriate touch for the Kodiak.
Indonesia, Botswana, Mexico, and other
points around the globe. The U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service puts them to good
use in Alaska, the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police patrol the Yukon in
jumpers to leap out the optional roll-up
door. Individuals pilot them for business
travel and for fun — taking them to
places few airplanes are able to go.
Thanks to the 750-shp Pratt &
them, and commercial operators all the
way to China rely on the Kodiak to
haul passengers and freight. Kodiaks are
used to transport medevac patients, and
some operators even encourage para-
Whitney PT6 turbine and clever STOL
engineering, the Kodiak has made its
mark as a 10-passenger, cargo-hauling,
backcountry wheel plane. Now it’s
about to be an even better seaplane.
My intro flight in the Kodiak was in
less-than-prefect conditions. Sitting in
the back (okay, squirming helplessly, as
CFIs not in control will do), I noticed
“cat paws” and whitecaps forming on
the mountain lake. With Tom monitoring the controls and a low-time private
seaplane pilot handing the approach, all
was going well. Then a sudden gust hit.
The Kodiak veered, the pilot hesitated
for a microsecond, and we splashed
down in an attitude that Tom calls “off
axis.”
I call it more of a belly flop, resulting
in landing sideways and hitting hard,
left float low. Water spray gushed over
the floats, the windscreen, and the side
glass. Then the best thing that could
happen happened: the floats righted us
nicely and pointed us back into the
wind. No tendency to nose over, no
porpoising. The Aerocets did their job,
and we were transitioned to a pleasant
bobbing along in the waves.
January/February 2014
Water Flying
7
T
he floats were totally stable
and provided a quick liftoff.
We taxied around for a bit to see
how well the big water rudders steer in
winds, and sure enough they enabled
us to turn easily, even when the breeze
preferred us to weathervane. Sailing
around until the wind laid down, Tom
had the right-seater pour the power in
for takeoff in a 10-knot headwind. I
timed it at 10.7 seconds.
Back at Pappy Boyington in Hayden
(KCOE), Tom dropped us off on the
tarmac and took off to the north. Light
and happy to be the sole manipulator of
the controls, Tom leaped off the ground
in about 700 feet.
Tom and test pilot Kelly Mahon went
on to put the new Aerocets though a
variety of water work situations including such counter-intuitive inputs as
pushing the yoke forward when step-
taxiing (a non-event to correct). They
did takeoffs at gross weight (timed at 18
seconds with a slight breeze on the nose
and 23 seconds on glassy water). Tom
apparently built up enough confidence
in the Kodiak/Aerocet combo to take
the next big leap — letting me fly her.
Bart Stone, probably the most experienced Kodiak seaplane pilot around,
came down from Alaska to put the plane
and new floats through their paces, in
all configurations: no-flap landings and
takeoffs, front and rear CG forces, highspeed water turns, and whatever else he
Right: Prototype Aerocet 6650s
included one fiberglass and one
carbon-fiber float for test purposes.
Production 6650s will be all graphite, with corrosion-proof fasteners.
KODIAK SPECIFICATIONS
Approximate price with Aerocet 6650 amphibious floats: $2.2 million
Standard specifications: see http://questaircraft.com/the-kodiak/
specifications-option/
Seaplane specifications:
Propeller: stock 96-in-diameter four-blade
Overall height on floats: 17 ft 6 in
Landing gear: nose = 5.00 x 5 Aerocet patented oil bath wheels
Main = 6.00 x 6 Aerocet patented oil bath wheels
Empty weight on floats: 4,525 lbs
Max ramp weight: 7,305 lbs
Takeoff weight: 7,255 lbs
Rate of climb (max. continuous): 1,150 ft./min.
Rate of climb (10,000 ft.): 725 ft./min.
Certified ceiling: 20,000 ft.
Cruise performance: 160 kts
Max-cruise range @ 160 kts and 12,000 ft: 928 nm
Max-range cruise @ 126 kts and 12,000 ft: 1058 nm
Stall speed: 58 kts
Takeoff ground roll: not yet determined
Brake roll (w/o reverse): not yet determined
For more information, contact:
Quest Kodiak — http://questaircraft.com/, telephone 866-263-1112
Quest Aircraft's management team includes Stephen Zinda (left), Vice President Sales and Marketing and Kenny
Stidham, Director Flight Operations & Safety Officer.
8 Water Flying
January/February 2014
Aerocet — http://www.aerocet.com/, telephone 208-448-1644
Huge rear cargo door is an easy
step up from port float. The Kodiak
also has a normal-size door on each
side of the cockpit for easy docking.
could think to throw in the mix. He
then agreed to provide some dual to an
absolute Kodiak newbie.
After some steep turns, power changes, and stalls, Bart boldly allowed me
to me to land in the glassiest of glassy
river waters. Thanks to Bart’s patient
instruction, and the Aerocets, we repeatedly touched down smoothly. Water
landings, takeoffs, and step turns were
a cinch; the floats were totally stable and
provided a quick liftoff.
I had my own off-axis landing back
in Sandpoint, this time on wheels.
Looking over the long nose, I thought
I was lined up pretty well in the crosswind but Tom, now in the backseat,
thought I was approaching like a wild
man. (Obviously, payback for my earlier
back-seat behavior.) But the big Kodiak
turned my bad approach into a good
landing, squaring things up with the
trailing-arm-link main landing gear.
Thanks to the Kodiak’s considerable
elevator authority, I found it nice that I
could hold the nose wheel off the runJanuary/February 2014
Water Flying
9