Jay,

if Bass could bend the laws of physics like that, maybe you could have
him tell next week's lottery numbers, too.

This aircraft, while an evolution of the Cherokee line, will be truly
revolutionary. Not only will it be one of the fastest, most
comfortable personal aircraft in the world,

How? Mooney and Columbia are faster than your number, all modern
airframes are way more comfortable.

it will assure Pipers
position as a general aviation leader for many years to come.

It never was that leader, it never will be.

(over the injected version) so that you owners may continue to take
advantage of the huge fuel cost savings the Auto Gas STC provides
you.

One word: Ethanol.

Well, it wasn't easy. But that's my next announcement -- because
we're also announcing a Cherokee airframe clean-up program that will
eliminate fully 10% of the parasitic drag on our 30+ year-old Cherokee
design.

Clean up all you want, you're just not going to get there.

Today I am announcing that we will be
incorporating flush rivets and a special metal-bonding technology
throughout the airframe.

And there you go into a new certification.

This extra power, combined with all the new airframe
enhancements, will make the Arrow truly competitive with Cirrus and
Columbia, and will absolutely blow away anything Cessna makes today.

Uhm, no.

Finally -- and this is the one you've ALL been longing to hear, for
many years -- the new Arrow V will incorporate TWO cabin doors,
allowing for easy access and egress.

Ah, new certification, again.

But these plans -- while certainly great -- are mere footnotes by
comparison to the new Arrow V -- an aircraft that will enhance Piper's
legacy as THE personal airplane builder for the common man.

So how do some enhancements on a 50 year old airframe make it more
attractive than four (Columbia, Cirrus, DA50, Cessna NGP) or more brand
new contemporary designs? And what do you expect the price to be on an
airplane that is already way more complex to build than the ones listed
above? I know you like Piper, but that's just not how the market works.

Look at the sales numbers. The Arrow is currently the lowest selling
Piper aircraft of all - by a huge margin.

Let's assume Piper would manage to do the stuff you suggest AND keep the
price the same. Let's further assume they would get a tenfold increase
of Arrow sales. I guess we can all agree that would be huge, now,
wouldn't it? That would mean 50 Arrow sales per year - a very, very
distant spot way behind Cessna, Cirrus, Diamond and even Columbia.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)