Potential to be an interesting thread.
It was probably my soul brother Gaunty who wrote in the other thread in passing about the lack of R&D with that Piper mob and others.
It takes a mighty big step to invest in R&D when the users have, in the main, rejected the new stuff for prolonged periods.
So it might be a chicken and egg, what comes first argument but ample precedent exists.
A veritable explosion of a new aircraft type hit our shores in the early/mid '70's. I'm talking of the Partenavia RN68 Victor. From memory we had 50-52 on register in very quick time and considerable numbers were sold world wide.
Regardless off your thoughts on the aircraft itself it was developed along to the point were it even won a crew door ect ect. Now the same company by 1978 had developed a stiff legged 8 seater with twin turbo props called the Spartacus and then a 10 seat retractable with the Alison engines called the Viator.
These were production models but I can't say I recall those variants ever being operated here in Aust. I heard tell there is a Spartacus for sale in Europe somewhere for $365K US. I've had a "pedal" of the Viator in the US a little while back and it's build date was from memory 1992!
Partenavia, as a company, fell over in 1994 but the point is that, based on the success of the PN68, they did embark on production of aircraft that, all things being equal, could have been the replacement for, or catalyst for improvement in, the 402/Chieftain clunkers we're still left with and yet their ideas were almost entirely rejected.
The twin campervans have hardly split the market wide open here either.
Perhaps someone should look at the dies and jigs for the Viator and use them in the new composite materials world?
And NO! I wasn't the Partenavia dealer!