Daher has delivered a Kodiak 100 to Héli-Béarn, making it the first delivery of the utility turboprop single to a French customer. Based at Pau-Pyrénées Airport in southwestern France, Héli-Béarn will use the airplane for skydiving operations.

"The Kodiak’s introduction in France marks another expansion of the global customer base for this highly capable airplane,” said Nicolas Chabbert, Daher’s aircraft division senior v-p and CEO of Kodiak Aircraft.

In a skydiving configuration, the Kodiak 100 is equipped with a sliding door and has a capacity for up to 15 skydivers. With a climb capability of nine minutes and 30 seconds to 12,000 feet, the airplane can fly an average of four rotations per hour for skydiving operations. “It is modern, safe, easy to maintain, and efficient,” said Héli-Béarn CEO Jean-Luc Dartiailh. “With an operating cost 25 percent lower than aircraft currently in service, the Kodiak is the ideal solution to take over from an aging fleet of skydiving platforms.”

Dartiailh added Héli-Béarn became interested in the Kodiak once the company learned of the French airframer’s acquisition of Kodiak.