Northwest Aerospace News October | November Issue No. 5 | Page 26

B
uyers of the Quest Kodiak are
well-cared-for — upon purchase, they
receive a full week of training at Park-
water Aviation. Parkwater President
and CEO David Wierengo said, “People
will come in from different countries to
be trained here; we even provide trans-
lators with our on-site flight training,
but also do some mechanics training.
We started training with the Kodiak for
missionaries doing humanitarian aid.”
Parkwater Aviation became the official
training location for the Quest Kodiak
about 10 years ago. They serve about
250 trainees per year on the aircraft.
The training is about a week in length
and includes not only piloting, but also
how to maintain the plane.
Parkwater Aviation said, “We provide
the highest level of pilot training for
the Quest Kodiak aircraft. We ensure
pilots and operators are fully prepared
to operate their aircraft effectively and
safely in a wide variety of environments
and situations throughout the world.”
Because the training is held at Felts
Field in Spokane, people from all over
the world stay and train in the Spokane
Valley for a full week.
Storytelling is a big piece of Quest
Aircraft, with tales of mission trips and
adventure in remote places in the world.
The website boasts stories in Patagonia,
Chile and Argentina. In a brief called,
“Like A Cruise Ship With Wings,” the
post says, “The Kodiak took our team
from the lowlands, with seas of pampas
grass, to deep river canyons, and into
some of the most beautiful backcoun-
try farms, each with their own grass
strip. After leaving the city behind, we
realized what the Kodiak was built for
— exploration and adventure. Though
unpressurized, the Kodiak easily
climbed to 25,000 feet for the trip from
Argentina to Chile.”
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NORTHWEST AEROSPACE NEWS
In another story, they talk about supporting Puerto Rico following a hurricane.
“Our Quest team flew with locals out of San Juan, assessing damage to key
tourism locations while measuring the Kodiak’s ability to ferry both people and
supplies to the remote areas on the island. With its amazingly short takeoff and
landing characteristics, this relatively large plane can get into and out of unim-
proved strips less than 1000 feet long and less than 60 feet wide. This is ideal for
servicing Puerto Rico and the many nearby islands, including Antigua, Barbuda,
and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands.”
The Quest Kodiak, born in Northern Idaho with a vision for luxury and world
missions, has succeeded just 20 years past inception. The sturdy high-quality
aircraft continues to bring business and adventure to the region. The challenge
will be in keeping this story to ourselves.
Quest Aircraft Company
1200 Turbine Drive
Sandpoint, Idaho 83864
208-263-1111
https://questaircraft.com