- 01 Feb 2023
- Mike Chase
- Turboprop Comparisons
Founded in 2001, Quest Aircraft developed, designed, and sold the Kodiak single-engine short take-off and landing turboprop. Developed for utility purposes, the Kodiak has been continually upgraded into today’s Kodiak Series II. At the end of 2019, Quest was acquired and rebranded as Kodiak Aircraft by Daher.
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A 2022-model Daher TBM 940 costs $4.66m, while a 2020-model Kodiak 100 Series II costs $2.7m, per Aircraft Bluebook’s Fall 2022 data. Buyers can purchase a used Daher model for less. For example, Aircraft Bluebook’s Fall 2022 data shows that a 2018-model Kodiak 100 Series II retails for approximately $1.85m, while a 2014-model TBM 900 costs $2.8m
In September 2022 there were 419 Daher TBM 900-series aircraft flying worldwide, per JETNET. The TBM 940 has the largest in-operation fleet, with 137 units. At the time of writing, there had been just six TBM retirements from a total 453 units built (28 of which were awaiting customer deliveries).
Daher’s TBM 940 offers a maximum range of up to 1,240nm, according to the OEM, based on four passengers and available fuel aboard. Meanwhile, the Kodiak 100 Series II has a four passenger range of 845nm.
In addition to Daher TBM models, there are several other single-engine turboprop aircraft on the market – however, Piper Aircraft’s M600 provides a similar range capability to the TBM 940. Meanwhile, competing with the Daher Kodiak 100 Series II in the high-payload, single-engine turboprop field is Cessna’s Grand Caravan EX.
Daher Turboprops Overview
By Gerrard Cowan - Editor, Aircraft Reviews
Daher offers two well-known brands in the turboprop market: the modern variants of the TBM range, and the Kodiak 100 series.
There are currently almost 1,300 platforms from these two aircraft families in service throughout the world with more than two million flight hours notched up among them. Both brands came under the stewardship of the French company through acquisitions: Daher took control of Socata, the developer of the TBM range, in two transactions (in 2008 and 2014), while it acquired Quest Aircraft – developer of the Kodiak – in late 2019.
The TBM Family
There have been a range of new additions to the TBM family since Daher took control of the line. For example, in 2014 the company launched the Daher TBM 900, a high-performance single-engine turboprop light business and utility aircraft that was derived from, and improved upon, the earlier TBM 850.
The TBM 900 features more than two dozen modifications to the earlier aircraft, including a redesigned air intake, a 5-blade propeller for improved aerodynamics and performance, and the addition of winglets.
The Daher TBM 930, equipped with touchscreen-controlled Garmin G3000 avionics, features the same airframe and PT6A-66D engine as the TBM 900, but offers a range of enhancements, such as increased passenger comfort and the provision of an improved human-machine interface environment for pilots.
The company also released its Daher TBM 910, also an improved version of the TBM 900 featuring a Garmin G1000 NXi avionics suite and a maximum range of 1,730nm, with the capacity to transport five passengers and a pilot.
The newest aircraft in the TBM range, the Daher TBM 940, offers an attractive combination of power and efficiency, along with an innovative autopilot offering. Introduced in March 2019, it has a range of 1,730nm, a maximum cruise speed of 330ktas, and, like its predecessors can hold up to five passengers and a pilot. It boasts a Garmin G3000 flight deck.
Daher highlights the aircraft’s advanced aerodynamics, with the TBM 940 incorporating a combination of aluminium, steel alloys, titanium and advanced composite materials.
The Kodiak Series
The Kodiak 100, meanwhile, notched up a strong performance in the single-engine turboprop market for over a decade between 2008 and 2018. It was produced by Quest Aircraft, which began producing Series II in 2018, a platform that is today under Daher’s auspices.
Around 250 of the original 10-seat aircraft were built, with customers like Spirit Air and Sunstate Aviation among its operators around the world. It has a maximum range of 1,132nm and a top speed of 183ktas.
The Kodiak 100 Series II offers all the benefits of the original aircraft but brings with it a number of important enhancements, such as the new Garmin G1000 NXi avionics suite.
And Daher is now taking the Kodiak 100 range forward again, unveiling in March 2021 the Kodiak 100 Series III. This new aircraft has an eight-seat ‘Executive Edition’ cabin with club-type seating, air conditioning with controls for both the cockpit and cabin zones and an increased oxygen capacity. The new aircraft features the first integration of Garmin’s GWX 75 Doppler-capable, fully-stabilized colour weather radar on a Kodiak aircraft, while the flight deck includes Garmin G1000 NXi avionics, like its predecessor.
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