MEI - time in type definition

[KSCessnaDriver]

I searched the FAA's web site for information on what "Aircraft Type" to use when filling out a flight plan and I found 2 answers that may be of interest to this discussion. The first answer was to consult a FSS briefer. The second pointed to an ICAO database: http://www.icao.int/anb/ais/8643/index.cfm It's not a list of M&M types, but you can search for the code you need to put in a flight plan. It seems logical that if you can put down the same code for two different airplanes then they are the same M&M. (The question about is a Seneca I a different type from a Seneca V, for example, seems to be resolved when there's only one listing for Seneca: PA34.)

So by that logic, a Piper Arrow 3 (P28R) is a different type than a Piper Arrow IV (P28T)? Here's the FAA equivalent of that link, just for another reference. http://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/atpubs/CNT/5-2.htm

What about when you go into IACRA (or fill out a 8710), and it asks for the make and model of the aircraft? You pick PA-23-150/235/250, as applicable. I think, if we really want a specific answer, somebody needs to write FAA legal, and see what they come up with.