April 11, 12

Friday’s a big day with three consecutive flight scenarios, including some landings on federal airstrips down in the Snake River canyon, a fuel endurance “problem” thrown in, and a night/instrument return to Sandpoint via Spokane. All along the way Steve Z gets perverse pleasure by throwing in an assortment of simulated emergencies: engine failures, Garmin failures, autopilot failures, etc. etc. I’m not back at the hotel until nearly midnight, plenty worn out!

Saturday dawns a beautiful, calm day. This is the “name your scenario” day, where I get to plan a route of my own choice. With Steve Z’s suggestion, we agree on a route of Bonner’s Ferry, ID - Troy, MT -Kalispell, MT – over Glacier Park through Logan Pass, back east to Coeur d’Alene, ID, and back to Sandpoint. This is an unforgettable flight, with the peaks buried in deep new snow. Going-to-the-Sun road over Logan Pass is barely visible under the snow. These pictures speak for themselves: Glacier Park from 10,000 feet, and landing at Troy, Montana.

April 8, 9, 10

The weather's been pretty foul, typical northern Idaho fare for April. Winter just won't give up. No problem, there's plenty to do on the ground yet -- playing with the G1000 simulator, studying the airplane flight manual, and checking up on Number 008 that is beginning to take shape on the assembly line.


Finally on Thursday there's a break in the weather, and we fuel up and take off on our first scenario. The Kodiak is not a difficult airplane to fly, but it can be a handful with all that performance, and ALL the functions of the Garmin distracting your attention. The training scenario calls for a search for a Girl Scout party stranded on a mountain, with GPS coordinates as the only available information. The successful location of the lost party is followed with some landings at Deer Park, and a couple instrument approaches, including one that ends back in Sandpoint.

April 7, 2008 - Factory Flight Training in the Kodiak Begins

April 7, Sandpoint Idaho. After years of anticipation, I'm actually going to get a chance to fly the Kodiak. Not just "play" with it, but for one week get the whole attention of Steve Zaat, Quest Aircraft Company's Customer Service manager, and main flight instructor. Steve O. meets Steve Z. The exercise: "factory training." Not a stranger to this type of airplane (1,000 hours of Cessna Caravan flight time, 1,700 hours of Beechcraft King Air time), I still feel excited. I've been working as JAARS' representative to Quest for several years and watched the Kodiak develop from just a concept. Not least in the curriculum is getting functional knowledge of the Garmin G1000 integrated flight system, their state-of-the art navigation and flight display (http://www.questaircraft.com/index.php?filename=avionics.php). Hopefully by the end of the week I will be flying the Kodiak and handling the Garmin to such a level that I can earn the Quest certificate of completion, earning me qualification to be in command of a Kodiak on my own.

Steve Z has done a good job with the FITS (FAA Industry Training Standard) curriculum, though there are a few areas where I strain to understand this new training philosophy. Each flight lesson involves a complete scenario of numerous landing sites, an instrument flight plan, and selected emergency drills. As acting Pilot in Command, I am responsible to look at the flight's scenario description, calculate the fuel needed, airplane loading, and all the expected performance. My name goes on the flight plan and dispatch form for every flight.

JAARS Kodiak Project Approaches D-day

After years of expectation and planning, we're on our countdown to receiving our first Quest Aircraft Company Kodiak Q100. When people ask me if I like the Kodiak, I have to say that's not a fair question. I never met an airplane I didn't like. But I have to admit, this one's special. It's the culmination of years of design and planning of a unique company in northern Idaho, dedicated to mission and humanitarian service. The Kodiak 100 is the result of the input of experienced mission aviation people and some pretty ingenious engineers and designers.

We're scheduled to get serial number 008 in September. In the meantime, there's lots of work to be done. I hope we can keep you informed and inspired on this site as we make this journey. We'll give you a glimpse of our team at JAARS and post major events as they happen, including photos and video clips. But first, we'll have to give you some background. Please be patient as we get these elements posted.