As for certification ??? its an international aircraft with no real home, so to get the thing off the ground, complete the initial certification in the most convenient country, you will be stunned and amazed how much time and money can be saved.;)
Yeah, but some of the less enlightened aviation authorities, such as the CAA, FAA, DGAC, EASA, etc. may not take your type certificate issued by the aviation authorities of Swaziland or Bhutan very seriously.
“Its got nothing to do with money”
Its got everything to do with money. Development costs money, certification costs money. New things are mostly being done by new, small companies. Establishing enough credibility so enough people are prepared to plop down a substantial amount of money, comfortable that companies such as those will still be there 10 years down the line to support their plane is very difficult and takes a lot of money.
There is interest in new technology – witness glass cockpits, diesel engines, composite aircraft such Cirruseses, Diamonds, etc. However, with anything new you take a risk of uncertainty. With something as expensive as a plane, that risk in terms of reliability, parts availability, resale value, etc appears to be large enough that lots of people will prefer to go with a known quantity, i.e. a Piper or Cessna. As long as that situation exists those types of manufacturers don’t really have much reason to do anything particularly groundbreaking.
Things such as anti-lock brakes you mention will need certifying, servicing, training of mechanics, etc. All this, and no doubt a lot else, combines to make this just too expensive for what is already an expensive activity which has a much more limited market than the automotive or motorcycle market you’ve referred to once or twice.
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