<====== no expert, but...
Most people (non-pilots) I know are surprised to find out that I bought a fly-able airplane for $15K. (of course, I've had to sink many more thousands into it to keep it fly-able).
They are surprised to find out that a used small two-seater plane costs roughly equivalent to a new economy car. They expect it would cost much more.
Again, I'm no expert, but I would think that the engineering problem of building a small flying machine capable of getting one person (max 200 pounds) aloft and buzzing around a few miles from the point of departure is fairly easy to solve.
But the problem, complexity, and cost goes up exponentially when you design and build a machine that can lift two or more fat guys, carry them comfortably and safely long distances.
The bigger the plane, the more payload, the larger the engine, the more stress that it must endure on takeoff and landing, the higher the cost -- again -- exponentially.
So, it doesn't surprise me that a sturdy two-seater costs $100K. I was hoping that the predictions of $50K to $75K LSAs would become a reality, but that hasn't happened. $100K seems to be the starting point. Just my thoughts.
