Quest Aircraft on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
The Quest Aircraft Company was an American
Daher Completes Quest Aircraft Acquisition
/ref>
CAM Case Study of Quest Kodiak
Aircraft manufacturers of the United States Companies based in Idaho 2004 establishments in Idaho American companies established in 2004 Sandpoint, Idaho
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
Sandpoint is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Bonner County, Idaho, Bonner County, Idaho, United States. Its population was 9,777 as of the 2022 United States census, census.
Sandpoint's major economic contributors include forest pr ...
. Quest was started in 2001 to design and provide aircraft suitable for humanitarian applications. Its sole product was the Kodiak single engine short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft.
In February 2015, the company was sold to Setouchi Holdings Setouchi may refer to:
Places
* Setouchi, Kagoshima, a town on Amami Islands, Japan
* Setouchi, Okayama, a city on Honshū, Japan
* Setouchi region, a region of Japan encompassing the Seto Inland Sea and adjacent coastal areas of Honshū, Shikoku ...
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
Daher (also stylized as DAHER) is a French industrial conglomerate. It is operational across the aerospace, defence, nuclear, and automotive industrial sectors in the fields of manufacturing, services, and transport.
It was founded in 1863 ...
.
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 theQuest Kodiak
The Daher Kodiak (formerly Quest Kodiak) is an American utility aircraft designed by and originally manufactured by Quest Aircraft in Sandpoint, Idaho. Manufacturing was taken over by Daher in 2019 after its purchase of Quest Aircraft. The h ...
.
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 corporation. It develops and manufactures aircraft and aviation systems, and provides leasing, equipment, and technical support services. Embraer is the third largest producer of civil air ...
Aircraft Corporation and Honda Aircraft Company
Honda Aircraft Company is an aircraft manufacturer headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, responsible for the production of the HondaJet family of aircraft. Originally a secret research project within Honda R&D, Honda Aircraft Company was ...
.
In February 2015, the company was purchased by Setouchi Holdings, part of the Tsuneishi Group of Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
.
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 some countries as OKB, experiment and design, is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products. R&D constitutes the first stage ...
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, military aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of Beech Aircraft Corporation, an American manufacture ...
and Landmark Aviation.
On June 13, 2019, French industrial conglomerate Daher
Daher (also stylized as DAHER) is a French industrial conglomerate. It is operational across the aerospace, defence, nuclear, and automotive industrial sectors in the fields of manufacturing, services, and transport.
It was founded in 1863 ...
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./ref>
Products
*Quest Kodiak
The Daher Kodiak (formerly Quest Kodiak) is an American utility aircraft designed by and originally manufactured by Quest Aircraft in Sandpoint, Idaho. Manufacturing was taken over by Daher in 2019 after its purchase of Quest Aircraft. The h ...
See also
*List of companies based in Idaho
This is a list of companies based in Idaho. Idaho is a U.S. state, state in the Northwestern United States, northwestern region of the United States. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 14th largest, the List of U.S. states and ...
References
* Marsh, Alton K. ''AOPA Pilot'' 2006External links
{{commons category, Quest AircraftCAM Case Study of Quest Kodiak
Aircraft manufacturers of the United States Companies based in Idaho 2004 establishments in Idaho American companies established in 2004 Sandpoint, Idaho