Aircraft

Piper Pilot 100i

Study reference only. The POH and the airplane's own records always win.

Specs and limits

The Pilot 100i is a Piper PA-28-181, the same model designation as the Archer, certificated under FAA Type Certificate 2A13. The type certificate data sheet lists it as "Model PA-28-181 (Piper Pilot 100i)," approved November 16, 2020, for serial numbers 28020001 and up. Piper calls the version with the full G3X Touch IFR panel the Pilot 100i. The POH covers both the Pilot 100 and Pilot 100i and marks the IFR-only equipment as "100i."

The POH also requires the pilot to wear a headset. It's listed as a limitation in Section 2.

V-speeds

These are from the POH, Sections 2, 3, and 4. Limit speeds are given in both KIAS and KCAS because the POH lists both. Procedure speeds are KIAS, which is what you read on the PFD and the G5. Unless noted, they assume maximum gross weight (2,550 lb).

Airspeed tape markings: white arc 45 to 102 KIAS, green arc 50 to 125, yellow arc 125 to 154, red line 154. The POH calls maneuvering speed V_O, the newer term for operating maneuvering speed. Older Pipers and many test guides call it V_A.

The TCDS lists maneuvering speed as 111 KCAS at 2,550 lb, which matches the POH, but gives its lighter-weight point as 89 KCAS at 1,634 lb instead of the POH's 96 KCAS at 1,917 lb. Use the POH number for your airplane and ask your instructor if you see a different value.

A few other speeds worth knowing: the GFC 500 autopilot can be engaged between 65 and 140 KIAS, the POH says to slow below 87 KIAS to close a door that pops open in flight, and after a complete electrical failure you hold 110 KIAS or less.

Systems

Engine and induction

The IO-360-B4A is fuel injected, so there's no carburetor and no carb heat. Instead there's an alternate air lever labeled ALT. AIR, to the right of the throttle quadrant (down is open, up is closed). It opens a valve that lets heated, unfiltered air into the engine if the normal intake is blocked by ice or anything else. Keep it closed for takeoff and avoid long ground runs with it open. The POH also warns that full throttle with alternate air open can cause detonation. The engine controls are a throttle and a mixture lever. There's no propeller control because the prop is fixed pitch.

Fuel system

Two 25-gallon tanks in the wing leading edges, 24 gallons usable each. Each filler neck has a tab, and fuel at the bottom of the tab means 17 gallons usable in that tank. The selector has three positions: OFF, L, and R. There's no BOTH position, so you manage the tanks yourself and switch to keep them balanced. To select OFF you have to press a button on the selector. An engine-driven pump feeds the engine, with an electric auxiliary fuel pump as backup. The electric pump goes on for takeoff, landing, and switching tanks. Sumps are at the low inboard corner of each tank, plus an engine fuel strainer on the lower left side of the nose.

Fuel gauges

A float sender in each wing feeds the G3X engine display. The G3X also has a fuel computer, but it only knows what you tell it, so you enter the fuel on board on the Fuel Calc tab before taxi. The POH says not to use fuel flow or the totalizer as your main way of knowing what's in the tanks. Look in the tanks during preflight.

Electrical

A 28-volt system with a 24-volt battery and a 70-amp, 28-volt belt-driven alternator. The battery master and alternator have separate switches (BATTERY MASTER and ALTR). A voltage regulator holds the bus at 28 volts and takes the alternator offline if it goes over 32 volts, which shows as an ALTR FAIL warning. On the runup, bus voltage should read 28 volts, plus or minus 1. An external power receptacle is on the right side of the fuselage behind the wing.

Flaps

Manually operated with a lever and spring-loaded to return up. Settings are 0°, 10°, 25°, and 40°. The right flap is also the step into the airplane, and it only holds your weight when it's fully up and locked.

Brakes

Hydraulic disc brakes on the two main wheels. You can use the toe brakes on the rudder pedals or the hand brake lever below and to the left of the throttle quadrant. The parking brake is set with that same hand lever.

Landing gear

Fixed tricycle gear with air-oil struts. Normal strut extension is 3.25 in for the nose and 4.5 in for the mains. The nose wheel steers through the rudder pedals, up to 20° each side of center.

Pitot-static and gyros

A single heated pitot head under the left wing supplies both pitot and static pressure to the G3X air data computer and the G5. An alternate static source valve is below the left side of the panel. There's no vacuum system. Attitude and heading come from the G3X's ADAHRS and from the G5 standby instrument's own sensors.

Stall warning

An electric lift detector on the left wing leading edge sounds a tone 5 to 10 knots above the stall. Check it on preflight with the battery master on. It goes silent if the battery is dead, which matters after an alternator failure.

Things that surprise students

• There's no ignition key. You get two magneto switches (left and right) and a push-button ENGINE START switch. The magneto, battery master, and alternator switches lock in position, so you pull each one out before you can move it.
• Starting a fuel-injected engine is different from a carbureted Cessna or Warrior. You prime with the electric pump on by advancing the mixture for a few seconds, then go back to cutoff before cranking. Hot starts skip the prime, and flooded starts use full throttle with the pump off.
• On hot days, the fuel can form vapor during long idles. The engine idles rough, responds poorly, or shows a big mag drop. POH 4.13 explains how to clear it.
• It seats three. There are two front seats and one rear seat.
• If the alternator fails, the POH budgets about 30 minutes of battery once you shed load. After that, the G5 runs on its internal battery for up to about four more hours, but without heading, so you'd need the wet compass.
• The cabin door has a top latch and a side latch. If both come open in flight, the door trails slightly open and the airplane slows a little. Fly the airplane first, then follow POH 3.5i, which has you slow below 87 KIAS to close it.

Avionics

Piper lists this equipment as standard on the Pilot 100i in its current trainer brochure and on the Pilot 100i web page. The POH describes the same setup.

• Garmin G3X Touch, one 10.6-inch display that works as a full PFD or splits into PFD and MFD halves. It also shows engine and fuel data and controls the radios and transponder.
• Garmin G5 standby instrument, at the top center of the panel, showing attitude, airspeed, altitude, heading, and a backup CDI
• Garmin GFC 500 autopilot with the GMC 507 mode controller, plus Electronic Stability and Protection (ESP). The 2020 POH lists the autopilot as optional, and Piper's current brochure lists it as standard, so check your airplane.
• Garmin GNX 375, a 2-inch touchscreen IFR GPS navigator with a built-in Mode S transponder (ADS-B In and Out)
• Garmin GNC 255A nav/com (VOR, localizer, glideslope, and a com radio)
• Garmin GTR 20 second com radio
• Garmin GMA 245R remote-mounted audio panel with Bluetooth, controlled from the G3X screen
• Moving map, terrain and obstacle alerts, traffic, synthetic vision, airport directory, and flight data logging on the G3X
• Wet compass, USB charging ports, LED wingtip lights, and headset jacks with push-to-talk for all three seats

The POH requires three Garmin manuals to be on hand in flight: the G3X Touch Pilot's Guide for Certified Aircraft (P/N 190-02472-00), the GPS 175/GNC 355/GNX 375 Pilot's Guide (P/N 190-02488-01), and the G5 Pilot's Guide for Certified Aircraft (P/N 190-01112-12). Garmin publishes them. Get the latest revision that matches your airplane's software. The POH (2.25 y) also lists the equipment that has to work for VFR and for IFR flight.

Installed avionics and software versions vary from airplane to airplane. Your instructor will add what's in the actual fleet airplanes.

Weight and balance

From POH Section 2.15 and Section 6, which agree with TCDS 2A13. Arms are in inches aft of the datum.

Because the ramp weight is 2,558 lb and maximum takeoff weight is 2,550 lb, a fully loaded airplane has to burn 8 lb of fuel before takeoff. The POH's sample loading uses that 8 lb as its start, taxi, and runup allowance. The POH's empty weight already includes full oil and the 2 gallons of unusable fuel.

Each airplane's basic empty weight, empty CG, and installed equipment come from its own weight and balance record. They'll be added here for each tail number, along with a calculator. For the method, see Weight and balance.

Procedures and flows

These are summaries to help you study the flows. They aren't checklists. In the airplane, use that airplane's own checklist and POH. Normal procedures are in POH Section 4 and emergencies are in Section 3.

Engine start, cold engine (POH 4.5d)

1. Set up

   Throttle about a half inch open. Battery master, alternator, both magnetos, fuel pump, and strobes on.

2. Prime

   Move the mixture forward for 3 to 5 seconds to prime, then back to idle cutoff. Review any PFD alerts.

3. Start

   Clear the prop and press ENGINE START. When the engine fires, advance the mixture and set the throttle.

4. Check

   Oil pressure has to come up within 30 seconds or you shut down. If START ENGAGE stays lit after you release the button, shut down. Don't fly without alternator output.

Limit cranking to 10 seconds, then let the starter rest for 2 minutes. After five tries, let it cool for 30 minutes. Hot engines (oil at 140°F or above) skip the prime, and flooded engines start with full throttle and the pump off. See POH 4.5d for both.

Before taxi and runup highlights (POH 4.5e to 4.5h)

• Check that the databases are current, enter the fuel on board on the Fuel Calc tab, and enter weights in the G3X weight and balance page (planning only).
• Check that the autopilot preflight test finished and that the G5 is on with no red X's.
• The transponder shows ALT on the ground and that's normal. The GNX 375 has no ground mode.
• Do the runup at 2,000 RPM. Each mag can drop up to 175 RPM, with no more than 50 RPM difference between them. Check oil temperature and pressure, voltage (28 ±1), alternator amps, and that ALT. AIR gives an RPM drop. Turn the fuel pump off briefly to confirm the engine-driven pump is working.
• If you have the autopilot, engage it, make sure you can overpower it, and check that the disconnect button works.
• Before takeoff: fuel pump on, proper tank selected, ALT. AIR closed, mixture set, flaps and trim set, empty seat belts fastened, door latched.

Takeoff, climb, and landing (POH 4.5i to 4.5n)

• Normal takeoff uses flaps up. Hold the brakes, bring it to full power, release, and rotate at 60 KIAS.
• Short-field takeoff uses flaps 25° (second notch) and trim slightly aft of neutral. Rotate at 55 KIAS and hold 60 KIAS over the obstacle. The POH lists 64 KIAS for the initial climb. Once you're clear of obstacles and at a safe altitude, retract the flaps slowly and climb at 76 KIAS.
• Climb at 76 for best rate, 64 for best angle, or 87 for an enroute climb. Turn the fuel pump off at your cruise altitude.
• For approach and landing: fuel pump on, proper tank, mixture full rich, flaps below 102 KIAS. Fly the initial approach at 75 to 95 KIAS and final at 66 KIAS with flaps 40°. Touch down on the mains and lower the nose gently. Strong crosswinds may call for less flap and more speed.
• To go around: mixture full rich, full throttle, pitch for a climb, then bring the flaps up in steps.

Emergency memory items, in summary (POH Section 3)

• Engine power loss in flight: pitch for 76 KIAS, switch to the other tank, fuel pump on, mixture rich, ALT. AIR open. Then try each magneto alone and back to both. If you get power back, close ALT. AIR and turn off the pump, then land as soon as practical (POH 3.5b).
• Engine failure after takeoff: with runway ahead, land straight ahead. Without runway, keep a safe airspeed, use flaps as needed, and make only shallow turns. Try a restart only if you have the altitude (POH 3.5b).
• Power-off landing: glide at 76 KIAS and aim for 1,000 ft above the field on downwind. Once you're sure of the field, slow to 66 KIAS and shut off the fuel, magnetos, and alternator. The battery master goes off after touchdown (POH 3.5b).
• Engine fire during start: keep cranking with the mixture at cutoff and the throttle open to pull the fire into the engine. Fuel pump and selector off. If it keeps burning, get out (POH 3.5a).
• Engine fire in flight: cut off the fuel at the selector, throttle, mixture, and pump, and turn off cabin heat. Then make a power-off landing (POH 3.5a).
• Electrical fire: battery master and alternator off, vents open, heat off, put out the fire, and land as soon as possible (POH 3.5a).
• Alternator failure (ALTR FAIL): confirm on the amps reading, then try one reset through the alternator switch and circuit breakers. If it stays failed, shed load and land as soon as possible, about 30 minutes of battery (POH 3.5d).
• Spin recovery: full opposite rudder, yoke forward with ailerons neutral, power to idle, rudder neutral when the rotation stops, then ease out of the dive (POH 3.5h).

The G3X shows warnings and cautions as CAS messages, such as OIL PRESS, ALTR FAIL, and CHT TEMP. POH Section 3.1 lists every message and points to its procedure.

Sources

• Piper Aircraft, PA-28-181 Piper Pilot Pilot's Operating Handbook and FAA Approved Airplane Flight Manual, report VB-2960, S/N 28020001 and up, with Garmin G3X system. Issued November 16, 2020, revised through Rev. 2, March 3, 2021. Sections 1 through 8. Copy hosted by Tampa Bay Aviation: tampabayaviation.com. Source for the specs, V-speed, systems, weight and balance, and procedures tables.
• FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet 2A13, Revision 64 (September 18, 2023), section XV-C, Model PA-28-181 (Piper Pilot 100i), plus Data Pertinent to All Models and Note 1. Copy of Rev. 64 at squarespace.com, checked against Rev. 63 in the NTSB docket. The current revision is on the FAA's Dynamic Regulatory System. Source for model designation, serial range, CG range, seat and baggage arms, and datum.
• EASA TCDS IM.A.234, Piper PA-28, Issue 8 (April 9, 2026), notes 10 and 11: easa.europa.eu. Confirms that a PA-28-181 with factory G3X is called the Pilot 100i, and that it's limited to 3 seats with the G5 and IO-360-B4A required.
• Piper Aircraft, 2026 Trainer Brochure, Pilot 100i specifications and standard features: piper.com. Source for the avionics list and dimensions.
• Piper Aircraft, Pilot 100i model page: piper.com/model/pilot-100i.
• Garmin pilot's guides named in POH 2.25: G3X Touch Pilot's Guide for Certified Aircraft (190-02472-00), GPS 175/GNC 355/GNX 375 Pilot's Guide (190-02488-01), and G5 Pilot's Guide for Certified Aircraft (190-01112-12).