| ARCTIC QUEST | MISSION TO 'MARS' Can pilots can help get us to the Red Planet? LOADED NEAR MAXIMUM WEIGHT, a flight of two Quest Kodiaks cruised in the Arctic summer sky over vast swaths of barren tundra and sea ice fraught with history. The steady thrum of their Pratt & Whitney turboprops was reassuring, although the pilots were inspired more than once to speculate whether the sea ice below could hold 7,000 pounds of airplane. BY JIM MOORE PHOTOGRAPHY BY THE AUTHOR 50 | AOPA PILOT January 2014 VIDEO EXTRA View an online video of the trip.