Kerry Lynch stepped into the role of editor of the&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;monthly magazine in May 2022 after serving with&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;for eight years. She joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in December 2014 as a senior editor covering Washington and business aviation news. She has also served on Convention News teams, including as editor of&nbsp;HAI Convention News. Lynch previously spent 25 years with Aviation Week. During her time there, she reported for and later steered&nbsp;The Weekly of Business Aviation, oversaw business aviation content on the&nbsp;Aviation Week Intelligence Network, served on the&nbsp;Show News&nbsp;staff, and held roles as the Washington columnist for&nbsp;Business &amp; Commercial Aviation&nbsp;and&nbsp;Overhaul &amp; Maintenance&nbsp;monthly magazines. In 2021 she was honored with the National Business Aviation Association Platinum Wing Award for lifetime achievement in journalism and was the 2004 recipient of the National Air Transportation Association’s Aviation Journalism Excellence Award. She also has been a recipient of an Aerospace Media Award for business aviation (2022) and NBAA Gold Wing Award (2003, 2024). Lynch graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelor of arts in journalism.

Editor, AIN monthly magazine

Kerry Lynch

Piper Aircraft is revisiting plans for opening the order book this summer and providing “limited quantities” of its newly introduced <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/general-aviation/2019-04-02/piper-unveils-affordable-pilot-trainers">Piper Pilot 100 and 100i basic trainers</a> after receiving a strong response from the training community, Piper president and CEO Simon Caldecott said today at Aero Friedrichshafen 2019. The company unveiled the models last Tuesday during Sun ’n'&nbsp;Fun, detailing plans to bring to market VFR and IFR derivatives of the PA-28 with a Continental Prime IO-370-D3A engine and Garmin G3X Touch Certified avionics. Priced at $259,000 for the VFR Pilot 100 and $285,000 for the IFR Pilot 100i, the models are designed to provide affordable training options for flight schools, Caldecott said.

 


The response was much greater than anticipated, and at least four major flight schools have asked to become launch customers, Caldecott said. Piper initially had planned to open the order book during EAA AirVenture in July, but now might open it sooner. Also, production of the models could ramp up sooner than expected. As far as availability, the engine and avionics must be STC’d on the airframe, but the PA-28 airframe itself already has a type certificate. The company also must get European validation.

 


Piper is gathering input on the aircraft during Aero Friedrichshafen, he said. But they are coming as Piper’s training sales are skyrocketing. Caldecott noted that when he joined Piper in 2009, the Vero Beach, Florida manufacturer had delivered 14 trainers. This year, it will be on pace to deliver more than 200 of its Archer and Seminole trainers.

 


Piper also is seeing increasing movement on its M-Class products in Europe, Caldecott said. Piper recently added a new dealer in France, Flying Smart, which will represent Piper in Belgium, France, Luxembourg, and Monaco. Flying Smart will take delivery of its first M500 later this month.

 


Meanwhile, Piper just obtained EASA validation of the G1000NXi flight deck aboard the M500. Available for both forward and retrofit, the avionics features enhanced situational awareness, visual approaches, and map overlay on the horizontal situation indicator. Faster processing power enables improved map rendering and smoother display panning. Optional features include SurfaceWatch, Flight Stream 510 wireless gateway, and improved ADS-B options.

News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.

Piper Pilot Models Drawing Strong Response

Piper also is seeing growth in European market with a new dealer in France, Flying Smart, and EASA validation of the Garmin G1000 NXi avionics on the M500.

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

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News and issues about aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), covering all segments of the aviation industry; and modifications for aircraft and engines. Subjects include product support of aircraft, engines and avionics, MRO company mergers, acquisitions, announcements and personnel, Airworthiness Directives, Supplemental Type Certificate approvals and other topics.

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