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Matt,
Since you did not seem to get the core point I was making, let me explain it again. The point was not to say that ancient technology is the only way to go. To the contrary, it was an endorsement for cutting edge technology; but for real cutting edge technology, not for wannabes, posing as such. Many people have pointed out that you can get a 2G Pentium-IV computer from Dell for under $1000. They ask, then why should one pay well over 10 times that for what is essentially a computer from SFS or a host of other manufacturers that have custom designed such systems for aircraft use. Many such people take one of many available commercial or even industrial computers, write some software and sell it for a budget price, calling it the latest technology. They are right, it is the "latest" technology, but it is not designed for or suitable for the cockpit environment. Will you take the latest technology house paint that is guaranteed to keep your house looking like it was painted yesterday and paint your plane with it? It is the latest technology paint afterall and paint is just paint.
I really like your Lexus versus Lincoln example about using latest technology to lower cost and increase performance. Sierra Flight System versus Honeywell would be a comparable analogy. Like Lexus, SFS designed a product from the ground up for the target market, incorporating the latest technology as well as the safety/performance/environmental requirements for the aviation environment. Like Lexus, they have come up with a product that is lower cost & superior to the old technology Lincoln (Honeywell & other "high end" EFIS systems). That is the way to do it. But then there is a 3rd player in this car market. The kid down the street that has just bought his first used Civic. He has put in a new engine with the "latest" chip to improve the performance. He has put in reduced diameter tires, bypassed the catalytic converter and added a nitrous oxide system to boost the performance even more and now he has a car that he believes he can drag race against any Lincoln or Lexus and attract more 18-22 year old women than ever set foot in any Lincoln or Lexus. This kid is convinced that he as the latest technology car at a fraction of the price of the Lexus and he has the women and the skid marks to prove it. What do you think? Would you trade in your Lexus for his latest technology Civic?
Anyone's marketing literature can beat anyone else's existing product 100% of the time. The proof is in the pudding. Jim reported that he tried the "latest technology" product and found it to not work in real life. To address the issue of the compass specifically, do I believe that the technology exists that can provide a solid state electronic replacement for the gyro based heading indicator? Absolutely. Can something that can do what a mechanical HI does under most conditions in most installations, be manufactured and sold for under $250. Absolutely. Can something that can do the job reliably under all conditions and all types of installations be sold for $250. No way. Just the parts will cost you a lot more than $250. And if you are thinking that 95% performance is good enough, then think about this. Would you accept a system that does not work when you are banking more then 45 degrees or keying the mike? Most pilots would not. But since you are talking and steep banking for only a couple of percent of the time you are in the air, the system does exceed the 95% performance requirement.
That, Matt, is the whole issue. You can have low cost or you can have high quality, but not both. This is dictated by laws of physics & economics, not by me. If you do not believe me, it is no skin off my nose. You can try and jump in the arena and battle the laws of physics and economics. Just because no one has won yet does not mean you are doomed to loose.
Hamid
>Please don't be so naive as to think that just because something costs
>less it isn't as good. When Acura and Lexus introduced cars,
<SNIP>
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