GLS,
Intersting you talk about the cost of Nav Aids. Did you know that a new ILS cost over 1.2m to install. With the advent of WAAS technology a new GPS approach in the next couple of years will cost under a couple of thousand, to get approved an published. If you dont want it published , all it will cost is the cost of the box.
Within the next couple of years I bet the Approach plate book for your area looks like the FAR/AIM (well it will all be digital, wont it, heck you can get that nifty new UPS stack with map, plate dispaly, nav/com and xpndr for 10k or so).
Ah now my point, if you look, many VOR approaches are staring to go away as more places get Rnav/GPS apporaches, the vor's are so expensive to maintain. It is the NDB's they leave, they are simple and cheap to keep up.
I agree, why get rid of something when it is simple (a little crude, but so are most of us), and a viable backup. Hey and I am like you I dont go anywhere with out my 300 dollar Garmin Pilot 3, works better than that damm bednix, plus it has big buttons.
RB