Sam Spade wrote:

A lot of effort goes into compiling the data; waypoints, nav aids,
frequencies, airport data, special use airspace boundaries and
altitudes, etc, etc.

Most of which is done on the tax payers dime.

Yes, Jeppesen does add value. For example, they compile it into different
formats for vendors as well as a lot of cross checking and data validation.
However, the real hefty lifting is done by government agencies. As the
end consumer essentially ends up paying for the base information twice (once
to Jeppesen and once through their taxes), I'll side with the OP and say
that Jeppesen is indeed overpriced.

And, the companies, Jeppesen and Garmin, aren't in business for the fun
of it.

Yup, and they are welcome to charge as much as they can get for it. And they
can charge a lot for it because they are the only game in town. However,
if there was any other source for this information, you can bet I for one
would be encouraging the competition.

--
Frank Stutzman
Bonanza N494B "Hula Girl"
Boise, ID