Cost of Cockpit Instruments

On Sep 19, 5:01 pm, wrote:

Actually, most laptop models sell around 10 million units a month, and
have a lifecycle of 2 years. That is a total of 240,000,000 units.

Most EFIS systems sell maybe 1000 to 2000 copies. For grins lets say
one is REALLY successful and sells 10,000 units.

10,000 divided by 240,000,000 is 0.004%

The market is absolutely TINY compared to consumer electronics.

That is the number 1 reason why everything is so expensive. That's
why even experimental equipment is much more expensive than consumer
electronics.

Now *this* makes sense. This is what I suspected all along.

The problem is a catch 22. The planes are expensive because the
volume is relatively low. The volume is relatively low (partially)
because the planes are expensive.

I don't know how much the cost of an airplane is related to sensors,
controls, and monitoring equipment, but as an electrical/software
engineer, it's very difficult to spend $3000 for something you know
you could make for $150.

Number 2 is the cost of certification.

Number 3 is liability insurance.

I think if manufacturers where to build airplanes cheap (in cost),
Problems 2 and 3 will begin to fix themselves.

-Le Chaud Lapin-