The Quest Aircraft Company was an American

aircraft manufacturer An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, or spacecraft. Aerospace is a high technology industry. ...

located in Sandpoint, Idaho. Quest was started in 2001 to design and provide aircraft suitable for humanitarian applications. Its sole product was the

Kodiak Kodiak may refer to: Places *Kodiak, Alaska, a city located on Kodiak island * Kodiak, Missouri, an unincorporated community *Kodiak Archipelago, in southern Alaska *Kodiak Island, the largest island of the Kodiak archipelago ** Kodiak Launch Com ...

single engine short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft. In February 2015, the company was sold to Setouchi Holdings of Japan. Setouchi had been acting as a dealer for Quest before purchasing the company. In 2019, Quest was sold to the French industrial group Daher.

History

In 1998, the Idaho Air Group was founded by Tom Hamilton and David Voetmann. Hamilton and Voetmann saw a need to develop an aircraft uniquely suited to the rugged flying environment found in humanitarian aviation. After raising the necessary funding, the Quest Aircraft Company launched in 2001 with a staff of 14. After a 27,000 square foot facility was prepared in 2002, work started on the first prototype aircraft, later leading to the production of the

Quest Kodiak The Daher Kodiak (formerly Quest Kodiak) is an American utility aircraft designed by and originally manufactured by Quest Aircraft. Manufacturing was taken over by Daher in 2019 after its purchase of Quest Aircraft. The high-wing, unpressuri ...

. Paul Schaller became CEO of the company in 2004, and by 2009 the employment force was 340 people. In 2010 the workforce was reduced to 155 employees, but 2011 saw infusion of capital and a change in executive leadership, with Schaller migrating to a consulting role in the company. Sam Hill was the CEO from 2012 to January 2017, after previous experience at

Embraer Embraer S.A. () is a Brazilian multinational aerospace manufacturer that produces commercial, military, executive and agricultural aircraft, and provides aeronautical services. It was founded in 1969 in São José dos Campos, São Paulo, where i ...

Aircraft Corporation and Honda Aircraft Company. In February 2015, the company was purchased by Setouchi Holdings, part of the Tsuneishi Group of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. In June 2016, the company's headquarters were expanded, bringing the main facility to . A

research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in Europe as research and technological development (RTD), is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products, and improving existi ...

hangar was also completed. In January 2017, Robert H. Wells was named CEO, having been in management at Tag Aviation,

Beechcraft Beechcraft is an American brand of civil aviation and military aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of Beech Aircraft Corporation, an American manufacturer of general aviati ...

and Landmark Aviation. On June 13, 2019, French industrial conglomerate Daher announced its acquisition of Quest Aircraft from Setouchi Holdings. The deal was completed by October 1, 2019, after which Quest was renamed Kodiak Aircraft and then absorbed into the parent company.Daher Completes Quest Aircraft Acquisition
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Products

References

* Marsh, Alton K. ''AOPA Pilot'' 2006

External links

{{commons category, Quest Aircraft
CAM Case Study of Quest Kodiak
Aircraft manufacturers of the United States Companies based in Idaho 2004 establishments in Idaho

History

Products

See also

References

External links