I don’t think that’s just humor. The FAA has to justify itself and no doubt that will show up on some stat list as an accomplishment much like we’ve been seeing in law enforcement. Instead of providing the services we think they provide, they do the easiest and most risk free thing that they can pass off as doing the job. In this case, a plane was certified in likely 10% of the time. For law enforcement, some minor league offenses by non violent people are dressed up as big deal arrests of organized crime activities.
I saw where the FBI made a bunch of white slavery/ sex traffic arrests in a big campaign to stop that sort of thing. The leaders of the slave trade were the owner of the apartment complex where the girls lived and the guy who hosted the website where they advertised. They were not pimps, they were service providers. All the girls were freely choosing the oldest profession to build a bank roll before going back home. Who snuck them into the country? Uncle Sam. They were here on student visas.
ATF has this junk down to a science. Some guy sells his cousin who had a teen age drug arrest an antique pistol and shotgun for $50 and now he’s a gun runner guilty of multiple offenses of providing guns to felons. They might spend more time on the news conference than the case.
Sheesh… Its an article about some training company buying a bunch of Pipers. Does everything on this site have to turn into (usually ult-right) political scree? Boy, does not take much to bring the AWOGs out of the woodwork.
I’m not sure what it needs a new type certificate if it’s basically a uniquely equipped PA-28 airframe. Is that on account of the new engine they were trying, or was it actually just a new production certification and the article was conflating the two?
Piper added the Piper Pilot 100i to their PA-28 Type Certificate Data Sheet (TCDS) 2A13 November 2020 revision. The model number is still a PA-28-181. The odd thing about the Piper Pilot 100i is it’s a big step backwards. While most new aircraft install more advanced engines with more power and less weight, this aircraft has a 1969 fuel injected engine rated the same as the 1974 carburetor engine. The IO-360-B4A rated 180 HP at 2700 RPM weighs 276 lbs… The O-360-A4M rated 180 HP at 2700 RPM weighs 261 lbs. The PP-100i is certified to only THREE SEATS. If you wanted to carry a fourth person the aircraft would need a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) or some TCDS modification instructions by the manufacturer.
I’m guessing the PP-100i will be cheaper to build and insure?