I think you pretty well identified the situation, Richard.
The instructor does a great deal of initial/primary student training.
This is the first Archer we have had in our flying club in seven years,
and he didn't begin flying with out club until after that. I don't know
what his experience was prior to that, so it may be that he is not that
familiar with the Archer. (Howerver, we do have a Cherokee Six and a
Turbo Arrow IV. I fly all these Piper's and I think there are some
cross platform similariities.)