Daher Aircraft delivers Europe’s first Kodiak 900 to Swiss couple for outdoor adventures

Daher Aircraft announced the delivery of a Kodiak 900 to Swiss owners Roland and Claudia Primus, who plan to use the aircraft for adventure flying to remote and short-runway destinations. Their travels will include mountain biking in the Alps and Pyrenees, surfing and wing foiling along the Mediterranean and Baltic coasts, trekking across northern Europe, and ski touring on Greenland’s western shoreline.

The delivery marks the Kodiak 900’s entry into the European market. Daher Aircraft highlighted the milestone during its press conference at the NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition in Las Vegas, where the company is showcasing its turboprop lineup with both the Kodiak 900 and TBM 980 on static display.

The Primuses are upgrading from a Cessna 182 to the Kodiak 900, which will be based at Switzerland’s Bad Ragaz Aerodrome (LSZE), featuring a 495-metre (1,624-foot) runway. The aircraft was handed over earlier this month at Daher Aircraft’s Sandpoint, Idaho facility, where both the Kodiak 900 and Kodiak 100 Series III are produced and assembled.

Roland Primus commented: “After reviewing the various product solutions, the Kodiak 900 was a perfect fit for us. We wanted to transition to a turbine-powered aircraft, and the Kodiak 900 ‘ticked the boxes’ on speed and performance, along with the ability to operate on grass and gravel strips. Its short takeoff and landing (STOL) capabilities – as well as its stable handling qualities at near-stall speeds – also are important for our mission profile.”

Nicolas Chabbert, the CEO of Daher Aircraft, stated: “The Kodiak opens a world of possibilities for owners who want their airplane to be part of an adventurous lifestyle. The Primuses are an excellent example of how the Kodiak 900 combines the STOL capability and excellent handling characteristics of the Kodiak 100 with a larger cabin and higher cruise speed – bringing them closer, and faster, to the places and experiences they seek.”

The Kodiak 900’s high-wing design offers outstanding outward visibility, a key advantage for Roland and Claudia Primus as they pursue adventure-focused flying. As Roland Primus noted, their missions are “the opposite of traveling from Point A to Point B.” The aircraft’s enlarged cabin further supports their lifestyle, providing ample space for mountain bikes, windsurfing equipment and the supplies required for expeditions across Northern Europe. Compared with the Kodiak 100, the 10-seat Kodiak 900 features a 3.9-foot (1.19-meter) fuselage stretch, increasing cabin volume by more than 20% to 309 cubic feet.

Powered by a 900-shaft-horsepower Pratt & Whitney PT6A-140A turboprop engine, the Kodiak 900 delivers a maximum cruise speed of 210 KTAS. The performance increase is supported by a series of aerodynamic enhancements, including landing-gear wheel fairings and optimized airflow management through the aircraft’s ducts, inlets and air intakes, reducing drag compared with the Kodiak 100.

A Hartzell five-blade composite propeller, featuring constant-speed, full-feathering and hydraulic actuation capabilities, contributes to the aircraft’s low external noise footprint of just 79.5 dB. Combined with a reduced operating speed of 1,900 rpm, the propeller enables the Kodiak 900 to operate comfortably in locations where strict noise regulations apply.

The aircraft also benefits from improved operating efficiency, delivering a nine percent reduction in specific fuel consumption. Depending on the mission profile, efficiency gains can reach double-digit percentages compared with competing aircraft, lowering both seat-mile costs and overall direct operating expenses.

Since its introduction in 2022, the Kodiak 900 has expanded the Kodiak family by combining higher cruise speeds and increased cabin space with the rugged utility capabilities for which the platform is known. The Swiss-delivered aircraft represents the 35th Kodiak 900 produced to date. The type serves a broad customer base, ranging from private and business operators to organizations involved in public safety, law enforcement, wildfire suppression and other special-mission applications.

The Kodiak 900 complements the Kodiak 100, which first flew in 2004 and has established a strong presence worldwide in business, utility and multi-mission operations. Both aircraft continue to be manufactured at Daher Aircraft’s facility in Sandpoint, Idaho.

Following its acquisition of the Kodiak programme in 2019, Daher Aircraft has expanded the product line with the launch of the Kodiak 900 and the upgraded Kodiak 100 Series III, while continuing to invest in production and assembly capabilities at Sandpoint. More than 400 Kodiak aircraft, including both the Kodiak 100 and Kodiak 900 variants, have now been delivered worldwide.

Today, the Kodiak family is fully integrated into Daher Aircraft’s global Customer Care network alongside the company’s TBM series of pressurised single-engine turboprops, a programme that has surpassed 1,300 aircraft deliveries worldwide.