Bush plane readied for construction

A new plane that developers say will aid humanitarian efforts worldwide should be under construction on an assembly line sometime next year.

The Kodiak, being developed and built by Idaho-based Quest Aircraft, received Federal Aviation Administration approval for construction in May. Now, Quest is raising capital to manufacture the plane, said Dave Voetmann, of Edmonds, who for the past 10 years has worked to realize his dream of a new bush plane.

Voetmann raised more than $40 million from humanitarian and mission nonprofits in order to fully design the Kodiak, which will be the first new bush plane in more than 20 years.

Quest already has orders for more than 50 planes from groups such as Mission Aviation Fellowship based in Nampa, Idaho, for which Voetmann flew during the 1960s through the 1980s. Mission groups will receive the planes basically at cost for having covered production expenses.

For the company to follow through on the orders, it will need to sell to commercial and government markets, where there is a growing interest, Voetmann said.

What makes the aircraft so special is the amount of cargo it can carry and that it runs on regular jet fuel instead of aviation fuel, industry officials have said. The skyrocketing price of aviation fuel, used for piston-style plane engines, has forced mission and humanitarian groups to reconsider some overseas programs in recent years.

The fact no one has made a new bush plane since the 1980s also makes the Kodiak of interest.

"No one can get parts for those older planes anymore," Voetmann said.

Quest — which was started by aviation experts, including former Alaska Airlines Chairman Bruce Kennedy, who died in a June plane crash — is now looking to raise more capital for production. The company hopes to produce as many as three planes a month by the end of next year.