The first production Quest Kodiak 100, photographed in June 2013. · Photo: Mark Wagner, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Daher · Turboprop
Kodiak 100 Series I
The first Kodiak version, built by Quest from 2007 until the Series II update in 2018.
The Series I is the least expensive way into a Kodiak: a tough, simple single-pilot turboprop that clears a 50-foot obstacle in about 1,500 feet and cruises near 174 knots. It is unpressurized with no toilet, so buy it for access and payload, not comfort.
Buy it if
You fly into backcountry strips, lakes or islands, carry six to eight people or bulky gear, and want a proven single-pilot turboprop with a Garmin G1000 cockpit for well under half the price of a new Kodiak.
Skip it if
Most trips are airport-to-airport runs over 600 nautical miles, your passengers expect a pressurized, quiet cabin and a toilet, or you want to fly above the weather without oxygen masks. A TBM or PC-12 costs more but fits that mission.
Biggest compromise
No pressurization. Above 12,500 feet the pilot soon needs oxygen, and above 15,000 feet everyone does, so most Kodiak trips stay at 10,000 to 12,000 feet.
The numbers that matter
What it costs per year
$427K
at 300 hrs · one professional pilot
How far it flies
1,132 nm
524–900 nm with passengers
How fast
174 kt
high-speed cruise
Seats
8
8 cabin seats, up to 9 passengers
Pilots needed
1
Certified for one pilot; many owners fly it themselves after factory-approved simulator training.
Price
What one costs to buy
Typical asking price
$0
Other sites
Priced vs call
with a price / call for price
Two of four Series I listings show prices, both $1.6M for high-time 2012 and 2014 ex-commercial aircraft; low-time examples are priced on request.
Price vs its family and alternatives
Scroll to explore · select a jet for details
For sale now
None listed right now
Cost to own
What it costs per year to run
300hours / year
Per year
Per flight hour
Estimate — your operator will quote actual numbers.
Fuel, airframe and propeller maintenance, engine program or overhaul reserve and landing fees, cleaning and miscellaneous rise as you fly more. One professional pilot, recurrent training, hangar, insurance and subscriptions and databases stay the same however much you fly.
Where the money goes
- One professional pilot$120,00028%
- Recurrent training$7,5002%
- Hangar$22,5005%
- Insurance$20,0005%
- Subscriptions and databases$4,5001%
- Fuel$117,03027%
- Airframe and propeller maintenance$80,00119%
- Engine program or overhaul reserve$47,25011%
- Landing fees, cleaning and miscellaneous$8,0002%
One professional pilot is the biggest single cost at 28% of the total.
The JetGrade
73 out of 100 — Slightly above its class
Peer group: Cessna Caravan 208, Pilatus PC-6 Porter, Pacific Aerospace P-750 XSTOL, Texas Turbines DHC-3 Turbo Otter
Seven categories at a glance
- - - 70 = typical— This aircraft
Strongest on airport access, weakest on cabin & passenger comfort.
Grades are editorial opinions about the model, not any specific aircraft. Sponsors and affiliates have no input. Reviewed 2026-09-30.
Where it flies
Sample trips and reach
Typical trips on a map
Nonstop
Depends on weight or weather
Fuel stop likely
2 of 6 sample trips are comfortable nonstops.
Sample flight times
- 1.6 hr
Carlsbad → Las Vegas
205 nm · Easy nonstop with fuel to spare
- 4.0 hr
Carlsbad → Aspen
625 nm · Nonstop, but oxygen needed over the Rockies
- 4.8 hr
Santa Ana → San José del Cabo
765 nm · Nonstop with four passengers and full reserves
- 6.1 hr
Teterboro → West Palm Beach
900 nm · Nonstop only with light bags and slower cruise
- 7.5 hr
Dallas → Teterboro
1,190 nm · One fuel stop, typically near the midpoint
- 12.9 hr
Carlsbad → Teterboro
2,100 nm · Two fuel stops; a full day of flying
Lineage
What came before and after
2007–2018
Kodiak 100 Series I
Original Quest-built Kodiak with Garmin G1000 and a PT6A-34 turboprop.
Size and cabin
How big it is, inside and out
Outside
Silhouette · scaled to length
Length
Wingspan
Height
Inside the cabin
Cabin length
Width
Height
Compare
How it stacks up
This aircraft
Kodiak 100 Series I
- JetGrade
- 73
- Cost per year
- $427K
- Range
- 1,132 nm
- Speed
- 174 kt
- Seats
- 8
- Cabin length
- 15′ 10″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 2007–2018
After →
- JetGrade
- 73
- Cost per year
- $337K
- Range
- 1,132 nm
- Speed
- 174 kt
- Seats
- 6
- Cabin length
- 15′ 10″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 2018–2020
Alternative
- JetGrade
- 75
- Price
- $2.25M
- Cost per year
- $448K
- Range
- 1,070 nm
- Speed
- 186 kt
- Seats
- 8
- Cabin length
- 12′ 9″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 1985–now
Alternative
- JetGrade
- 74
- Price
- $2M–$3M guide
- Cost per year
- $505K
- Range
- 1,650 nm
- Speed
- 269 kt
- Seats
- 6
- Cabin length
- 16′ 9″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 1994–1996
- Cessna Caravan 208 instead: Far more common, so parts, shops and buyers are easier to find, with a larger cabin and similar speed, though less at home on short, rough strips.
- Daher Kodiak 100 Series II instead: The same rugged airframe with Garmin's newer G1000 NXi cockpit, better door seals and later build years, at a higher price.
- Pilatus PC-12 instead: Pressurized and roughly 90 knots faster, so passengers ride above the weather, but it costs more to buy and run and needs longer runways.
Gold marks the best figure in each row.
Owning one
What to know before you buy
Engines & inspections
1 × Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34 · 750 shp each
No APUEngine hours until overhaul
- Nose gear fork check · 200 hr
- Engine overhaul · 4,000 hr
- Propeller overhaul · 4,000 hr
- Annual inspection every 12 months
- Pitch trim actuator maintenance every 12 months
Many Series I engines are on Pratt & Whitney Canada's pay-per-hour plan; it transfers with the aircraft and has no minimum hours.
Known issues
Nose gear fork cracking
Original nose-gear forks need inspections every 200 hours until a newer fork is fitted, about $7,300 installed.
Pitch trim actuator fixes
Factory bulletins replaced trim actuator fasteners and added maintenance after loose fasteners risked loss of control.
Heavy commercial histories
Many Series I aircraft flew tours, cargo or floats; landing counts above 10,000 and engine swaps need careful records review.
Pre-buy checklist
0 of 10 checked
The factory in Sandpoint, Idaho still builds Kodiaks and offers round-the-clock grounded-aircraft support, backed by US dealers and service centers. The PT6A-34 engine is supported worldwide.
Review
The full review
Strengths
- Clears a 50-foot obstacle in about 1,500 feet and stops in about 765 feet of ground roll at sea level.
- Useful load of about 3,535 lb and a 49-inch-square cargo door swallow people, bikes, coolers or freight.
- An optional TKS ice-protection system, approved in 2010, allows flight into known icing, which the Pilatus Porter cannot do.
Limitations
- Unpressurized: flights above 12,500 feet need oxygen, and there is no toilet on board.
- Full fuel leaves about 1,391 lb for pilot, passengers and bags in a lightly equipped aircraft, so long legs mean fewer seats.
- Cruises at about 174 knots, well behind pressurized singles like the TBM or PC-12 at 265 to 330 knots.
The Kodiak 100 is a single-engine turboprop designed by Quest Aircraft in Sandpoint, Idaho, originally to serve mission organizations flying into remote strips. It first flew in 2004, earned FAA certification in May 2007 and reached its first customer in January 2008. Series I is the name now used for the roughly 245 Kodiaks built before Quest introduced the Series II update in 2018. Daher, the French company behind the TBM, bought Quest in 2019 and still builds the Kodiak 100 as the Series III, alongside the stretched, faster Kodiak 900.
Pilot's take
Pilot reports describe the Kodiak as a big, honest utility airplane with turbine reliability. The Garmin G1000 panel is familiar to many owners, and forgiving low-speed handling makes short, rough strips the aircraft's natural habitat. The reversible propeller shortens landings on gravel and water. It still demands respect: it is a heavy single-pilot turbine, and flying above 12,500 feet means managing oxygen for everyone aboard. We would budget for factory-approved simulator training every year and treat the Kodiak as a tool for places other airplanes cannot reach, not as a fast cruiser.
Who this is for
Owner-pilots and operators who value where they can land over how fast they get there: backcountry lodges and ranches, float and island flyers, relief and survey outfits, tour operators, and families hauling gear to places without a paved runway.
Ask about this aircraft
Answers come only from our research file on the Kodiak 100 Series I.
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