Q: Velocity TXL-5 turbo - how much would a certified version cost?
A: More than could ever be recovered from selling the airplanes.
Why would any sane person try to certify another piston single in this market?
The whole industry doesn't sell a 1000 single piston airplanes in a whole year (according to the GAMA statistics 954 total last year, of which nearly 40%, 380 airframes, were from Cirrus).
In a limited market, with anemic growth and no scale opportunities, the only feasible and sensible new product business strategy is to market a luxury product - limited volume, "exclusive", high margin, ego stroking, country club bragging material.
Does anybody think there's room for a second company in the single piston aircraft market to compete with Cirrus in this luxury product segment? Seriously?
Hell, Mooney is all excited because they went from 7 to 14 airplanes sold last year. Woopee.
The only faster way to lose money than spending it certifying a new single piston airplane was buying Lyft on the IPO. Maybe.
Still skeptical? Have a look at Tesla. Great product, originally. Utterly ridiculous company that has no hope of survival intact. One of the most efficient destroyers of capital ever listed on the NYSE.
The Model S was exactly the right luxury product strategy - elegant, stunningly beautiful design, exclusive, high margin, ego stroking, country club bragging material.
Where did it go off the rails? When Tesla tried to sell the idea of an "economical mass market" product. We're still waiting for that $35k Model 3 (not to mention the "entry level Model S, another product that never appeared). Tesla figured out quickly enough they needed to sell upmarket (read: higher margin) Model 3s only.
And this in a market, EV automobiles, that has a lot more scale opportunity than the piston airplane market. Tesla would have been better off coming out with the Gen Two Model S (a la Cirrus) and selling it at Rolls Royce prices.
Over the decades I remain constantly amazed at the amount of money that gets poured into one aviation dream after another. Adam Aircraft, Eclipse, Lancair/Columbia, Liberty, Symphony, not to mention the attempted resurrections of previous certified aircraft such as the Tiger and Commander. Graveyard economics writ large.