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#12
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Garmin updates
If panel-mounted, IFR-certified GPS/NAV/COM units were bought in the volumes that personal computers are, the GNS-430 would probably cost a few hundred dollars. They would be manufactured in China, and there would be a dozen companies competing for the business. But, if personal computers we * highly regulated by governments; * had the requirement to only be touched by certified technicians (who took years to get their ticket); * had the insurance albatross around their necks; * had all the other "drag" associated with aviation; I'll bet their price would be nowhere near the couple of hundred bucks they are now. Even at higher volumes than aviation, medical equipment has astronomically high prices because of the liability and government tinkering. So, I believe there are 2 components necessary for prices to fall out of the stratosphere, volume and truly "free" trade. The rules for light airplanes need to be significantly changed or removed. This includes the legal lottery mentality of the public. Once done, MAYBE prices would fall enough to encourage more folks to buy in, thereby driving volume a bit (thus lowering prices and so on). Garmin is only going to sell a very limited number of $10,000 (installed) IFR cert. GPS units to the potential aviation community. If the installed price were $3000 (more volume, less government, less legal drag), I'll bet they would sell quite a bit more. Maybe enough to make the number more attractive to them as a manufacturer (I'm not an economist, and I don't play one on Usenet). Yes, even if everyone with a plane bought one, the volume would not be impressive. But, I would bet their current sales amounts to only a single digit percentage of the airplane community eligible, maybe only a fraction of 1%. Who the hell can afford these things in a $30k airplane? It might be interesting to run some scenarios to see where the break even and profit points would shift if the rules and volumes were changed. Mike |
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