About 20 years ago, Frank Christiansen proposed to build and sell the
Husky for $50,000. The final product came out of the factory at $65,000
(I am working from memory on this price, it may be low).
Why the big price jump?
Frank though that he could certify the aircraft quickly for x-something
dollars because of its similarity to the Super Cub. The FAA, however,
took a totally different approach, and made him certify the Husky as as
a new aircraft design.
This added significantly to the certification costs which were then
added to the original projected costs to come up with the final selling
price.
One of the aviation rags (FLYING?) had an interview with Frank which has
the whole story.