Hey, if he doesn't show up, he's blowing you off. If he shows up and
doesn't reveal anything "exciting," then you're ripping him to shreds.
So he shows up and tells you what's going on at Piper, and you're still
not happy? Geez, you guys are like a bunch of women! Can't please you!

Let me try that again. Bass shouldn't have "not shown up" -- he simply
should never have made himself available for speechifying to a bunch
of piston-single owners in the first place. The CPA would have been
better off with a Rod Machado-type entertainer doing the talking --
and so would Piper.

But who knew?

From what you've described, I agree that it sounds like his message was
not well-matched to his audience, but then again, I'm not sure that he
really had any other good news. You guys probably wanted to hear about
PIper's plans for a "Cirrus killer," which is obviously something that's
not in the cards.

Piper's "solutions" in the piston market have been so bloody obvious
to long-term Piper owners that we ALL wonder what their problem is.
They needed to do two things ten years ago:

- Add a pilot's-side door to the Cherokee line.
- Build an O-540-powered Arrow

They have done neither, and have thus been getting their asses waxed
by Cirrus and Cessna. It's been like watching Chevy try to turn the
Impala into a Camry-killer. Painful to watch.

Additionally, they could have made simple changes (like flush-rivets
and wing filets) to the airframe that would have at least given the
appearance of keeping up. Again, they have done precisely nothing,
beyond adding glass panels and upgrading interiors.

In the end, I'm not too worried about the parts issue, even if PIper
were to stop selling parts tomorrow. Where there's a will (and money to
be made), there's a way. I honestly don't think Piper has much to gain
by trying to ground the existing piston fleet, nor do I think that they
would be successful in doing so.

All one has to do is look at the plethora of plastic part
manufacturers to see what would happen if Piper stopped making parts
for old planes. There will always be small companies willing to jump
into the breach.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"