Daher’s Aircraft Division has opened a new 9,000-square-foot paint facility at its Kodiak Aircraft Company production site in Sandpoint, Idaho, marking the latest investment since Daher’s 2019 acquisition of the Kodiak utility airplane product line.
The facility streamlines Sandpoint’s overall production process in Sandpoint and further improves the build quality for this multi-role single-engine turboprop aircraft produced in the Kodiak 100 and Kodiak 900 versions.
Until now, Kodiak aircraft were flown from Sandpoint to locations outside of Idaho for painting. This extended the production time, while also requiring control surfaces to be removed upon arrival, and then reinstalled once the procedure was completed. The ability to perform on-site painting reduces the overall Kodiak production cycle by approximately one week.
Daher invested $2.7 million in the new operation, which consists of separate preparation and paint booths – and was conceived with the possibility of additional expansion to meet increases in Kodiak production rates.
“This underscores our commitment to the Kodiak’s future as we evolve the aircraft family,” said Nicolas Chabbert, the Senior Vice President of Daher’s Aircraft Division. “It follows the launch of two new Kodiak versions since Daher purchased the product line four years ago: the enhanced Kodiak 100 Series III, which we introduced during 2021; and the larger Kodiak 900, unveiled in July 2022.”
The Sandpoint painting operation mirrors the best practices process employed by Daher’s Aircraft Division at Tarbes, France for its TBM family of very fast turboprop aircraft, with major components – including the fuselage, wings, control surfaces, cowlings and doors – painted individually after coming out of manufacturing, and then flowed directly into the final assembly line.
The electrostatic painting technique is employed, ensuring a more environmentally friendly process as well as an enhanced surface finish for the aircraft components.
