Cost of Cockpit Instruments

Le Chaud Lapin wrote:
Nope. I just know that it will be a fixed cost. My guess is that it
would be under $100,000,000. If so, then those costs would be
recuperated.

100 Million USD? Really, you think it would be that high?

But let's say you are right. If every single aircraft registered in the US
added your widget that would be amortized to about $500/plane.

While I fully agree that anything sold to go into an aircraft costs more
than it should at least some of that cost is there for a reason.

I'll bet if you call Intel's OEM sales unit and ask for a price on 500 INTEL
Core 2 Duo E6300 which is selling for around $155.00 anywhere on the web and
told them that you were going to put it in a certified aviation application
the price would jump significantly if they would sell it to you at all.

Here's a question and answer from Blue Mountain Avionics' website. They make
a EIS for experimental aircraft. Keep inmind what they are talking about is
for something that will go in an experimental aircraft. They are just
talking about GPS IFR approach certification.

Q: Is EFIS/One certified for GPS approaches?

On the advice of our most trusted avionics dealer and partner, we have
decided not to pursue it. For what it will cost to do TSO C129A testing and
certification, we'd have to raise the price of the EFIS by more than the
cost of a high-volume certified unit. We think it's a better deal to have a
reasonably priced glass cockpit, and the interconnect available for those
who want to fly GPS approaches. If you have a certified GPS, you can plug
it in to drive the flight director and autopilot in approach mode.