Daher recently delivered a Kodiak 100 equipped with a new Hartzell composite five-blade propeller to the North Carolina Forest Service’s Aviation Division.
The Kodiak 100, a turboprop utility aircraft capable of operating from rough airstrips, will be used by the service as a “load aircraft” carrying equipment and supplies to bases set up to support wildfire suppression operations.
The new composite propeller features Hartzell’s lightweight Raptor propeller hub technology. It weighs 13 pounds less than the Kodiak 100’s existing four-blade metal propeller and reduces the aircraft’s takeoff roll by six percent at maximum gross weight.
Daher now offers the five-blade prop as an option on new production aircraft. It’s also available as an option retrofit on existing Kodiak 100 aircraft through Hartzell’s Top Prop program.
A lifelong aviation enthusiast, Douglas Royce is currently co-editor of four of Forecast International's Market Intelligence Services: Civil Aircraft Forecast, Military Aircraft Forecast, Rotorcraft Forecast, and Aviation Gas Turbine Forecast. As such, he plays a key role in many important projects that involve market sizing and forecasting for various segments of the world aerospace industry, as well as demand for related systems.
