Mercy Air, which performs humanitarian flights between its base at White River, South Africa, and missionary bases in Mozambique, has invested in a Kodiak 100.

“The terms of this investment meant that we had a special deal for acquiring aircraft. Our decision to invest in the Kodiak was based on the suitability of the aircraft for our requirements,” explains Mercy ceo Allan Luus.

He says that the company had issues with payload limitations initially, due to a restrictive maximum landing weight. “We were forced to fit larger tyres, to bring the landing weight up to the take-off weight. Since then, we are very happy with the performance,” he continues.

“For us, the main difference compared with our previous aircraft is the turbine engine. We have had restrictive operations due to the use of Avgas, which is not as freely available in some regions as Jet-A1. This is not really a 'new feature', but it is significant to us.

“We are also experiencing the benefits of the Garmin 1000 system and the autopilot, as well as the weather radar,” he adds.

Jet-A1 has made route planning far simpler and the weather radar helps in African summer storm conditions. Obtaining flight permits in the region can be challenging however.

“We are slowly expanding our operation, but this is subject to us getting funding, both for capital purchases and for operations,” says Luus.

“We have recently sold a Cessna 210 and a Seneca III. This was to help fund the addition of the Kodiak 100 to our fleet. We also operate a Cessna 310 and a Squirrel helicopter. These aircraft are almost exclusively used for our mission work. We occasionally charter to raise funds too,” concludes Luus.