Two rugged single-engine turboprops built for real utility, weighing the backcountry-focused Kodiak against the pressurised, faster PC-12.
The Kodiak is the purpose-built answer when short or unimproved strips, bulky loads and field access define the job. It carries the utility brief without paying for pressurisation and reaches places where the PC-12's excellent runway performance is still more aeroplane than the strip permits. The PC-12 earns its premium when passengers spend hours aboard: pressurisation, speed, range and a flexible executive cabin turn it into transport rather than backcountry equipment. Both can carry serious loads, so payload alone is a poor tiebreaker. Choose by the worst regular runway and the longest regular sector, not by which capability sounds more adventurous.
The table below uses the same versioned PlaneFit dataset as the Finder. Prices and operating costs are planning estimates, not quotations.
| Decision factor | Daher Kodiak 900View aircraft profile | Pilatus PC-12 NGXView aircraft profile |
|---|---|---|
| Typical market year | 2023 | 2023 |
| Estimated purchase | €3.05m | €5.26m |
| Annual cash cost at 80 h | €188k | €260k |
| Five-year cash outlay | €3.99m | €6.57m |
| Cruise speed | 210 kt | 290 kt |
| Advertised range | 1129 nm | 1803 nm |
| Seats | 10 | 10 |
| Realistic payload | 1076 kg | 975 kg |
| Runway need | 309 m | 758 m |
| Landing gear | Fixed tricycle | Retractable tricycle |
| Ratings and endorsements | Type rating | Type rating, Complex airplane endorsement, High-altitude training |
| Data confidence | Normalized for direct comparison | Normalized for direct comparison |
| Main trade-off | Faster and roomier than the Kodiak 100 while retaining utility, but its higher weight and fuel burn reduce the simplicity advantage. | Exceptional cabin, payload and runway versatility, but acquisition and professional-grade support costs are substantial. |
A factual first pass. Mission, condition and configuration can outweigh a brochure advantage.
They do not cross. The Daher Kodiak 900 is the cheaper of the two at every utilisation from zero to 300 hours a year, on purchase and running cost together, so there is no break-even point to find. That is worth knowing plainly: on cost alone this is not a trade-off, and the case for the other aircraft has to be made on mission, cabin, speed or access rather than on eventual savings.
| Five-year cash, including purchase | Daher Kodiak 900 | Pilatus PC-12 NGX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40 h / year | $4.1m (€3.79m) | $6.82m (€6.32m) | $2.72m (€2.52m) to Daher Kodiak 900 |
| 100 h / year | $4.42m (€4.09m) | $7.23m (€6.69m) | $2.81m (€2.6m) to Daher Kodiak 900 |
| 200 h / year | $4.94m (€4.58m) | $7.9m (€7.32m) | $2.96m (€2.74m) to Daher Kodiak 900 |
The gap widens as utilisation rises, which is the part a headline price comparison hides. Every figure uses the same planning model as the rest of the site: indicative market prices, a fixed annual base and a direct hourly cost, before financing, depreciation and tax.
Advertised range is a still-air, best-case number. With 4 people aboard and realistic reserves, plan on about 756 nm from the Daher Kodiak 900 against 1,208 nm from the Pilatus PC-12 NGX. On a return trip without refuelling, that is the radius that decides which destinations are on the list at all.
Against the 28,815 airports in the PlaneFit database that publish a runway length, the Daher Kodiak 900 has enough runway at 28,672 of them and the Pilatus PC-12 NGX at 20,678, comparing each aircraft’s take-off requirement of 1,014 ft and 2,487 ft against the longest runway on the field.
This is a planning comparison, not a statement that any particular operation is legal or advisable. It ignores surface, slope, elevation, temperature, obstacles and how heavily the aircraft is loaded, all of which extend the requirement. It also compares take-off distance only: landing distance is frequently the binding constraint and PlaneFit does not hold approved landing distances, so a field in these counts is not necessarily a field you can get back out of, or into.
The Pilatus PC-12 NGX requires a complex airplane endorsement and a high-altitude training that the Daher Kodiak 900 does not. That is training time and instructor cost before the first trip, and insurers normally attach minimum-hours conditions to the same requirement, which is where it shows up again in the running cost. US requirements under 14 CFR 61.31, stated for orientation rather than as advice.
Ten-seat fast unpressurized utility turboprop. Its central ownership trade-off is: Faster and roomier than the Kodiak 100 while retaining utility, but its higher weight and fuel burn reduce the simplicity advantage.
Planning snapshot: $3.29m (€3.05m) indicative price and $203k (€188k) annual cash cost at 80 hours.
Read the full aircraft profileTen-seat pressurized executive and utility turboprop. Its central ownership trade-off is: Exceptional cabin, payload and runway versatility, but acquisition and professional-grade support costs are substantial.
Planning snapshot: $5.69m (€5.26m) indicative price and $281k (€260k) annual cash cost at 80 hours.
Read the full aircraft profile