CNN's Jim Campbell sure loves doing flight tests... The more exciting and interesting, the better. However; one of the highlights of his recent trip to the Sun and Fun Aerospace Expo for 2021 was actually a humble aircraft whose type he's flown hundreds of times over the course of 19000 hours of flight time -- Many of it spent as a flight instructor.
It's a bit of a surprise that Jim's acquaintance with the latest generation of the PA-28 series brought such a smile to his face. Why? Because the Piper 100i, something of a highly dedicated training version of the Piper Archer, does more than a little bit of everything right. It gets rid of accessories and accoutrement that have little bearing on the flight training environment, and adds both creature comforts, as well as technology, to make the flight training environment more powerful, safer, and suited to the task at hand.
Mind you, flying the better part of an hour the day before the Sun n Fun Aerospace Expo, in airspace inhabited by way too much traffic, is hardly the best way to test a trainer... But this flight proved that Piper is very much on the right track. Jim came away impressed with the airplane and the addition of envelope protection that makes this airframe -- one that has heretofore proved itself to be one of the safest in history -- a little bit safer. Come along with ANN’s Chief Test Pilot Jim Campbell, and see what this old-time flight instructor thinks of the latest generation of PA-28...
Aero-TV is a production of the Internationally syndicated Aero-News Network. Seen worldwide by hundreds of thousands of aviators and aviation adherents, ANN's Aero-TV has produced over 5000 aviation and feature programs, including nearly 2000 episodes of our daily aviation news program, AIRBORNE UNLIMITED, currently hosted by Kimberly Kay. Now in its third decade of operation, parent company Aero-News Network, has the most aggressive and intensive editorial profile of any aviation news organization and has published nearly a half-million news and feature stories since its inception -- having pioneered the online 24/7 aviation new-media model that so many have emulated.
Aero Linx: Transport Canada We are a federal institution, leading the Transport Canada portfolio and working with our partners. Transport Canada is responsible for transportation p>[...]
Gross Navigation Error (GNE) A lateral deviation from a cleared track, normally in excess of 25 Nautical Miles (NM). More stringent standards (for example, 10NM in some parts of th>[...]
From AirVenture 2017 (YouTube Edition): Flight-Proven Booster On Display At AirVenture… EAA AirVenture Oshkosh is known primarily as a celebration of experimental and amateu>[...]
Aircraft Parachute System (CAPS) Was Deployed About 293 Ft Above Ground Level, Which Was Too Low To Allow For Full Deployment Of The Parachute System Analysis: The day before the a>[...]
Also: 48th Annual Air Race Classic, Hot Air Balloon Fire, FAA v Banning 100LL, Complete Remote Pilot The news Piper PA-18 Super Cub owners have been waiting for has finally arrived>[...]
ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (06.29.25)
See All