George,
You are right, it is a real crapshoot, isn't it?
A book a few years back written about the airplane business noted that it took an investment equal to the entire value of the company every 10 to 15 years to develop the next generation, and one false step meant oblivion. The book was called "The Sporty Game" because we must roll the dice as if we knew the outcome.
When Igor was 51, he decided to build his first helicopter, and he told his wife he would mortgage the house if the United Aircraft board wouldn't fund him. That's dedication!
Take a half a billion dollars ($500,000,000) and divide by 500 aircraft, and you get 1 million apiece just for the development. If you sell for $16 million, that's just 7% of the sales price! This is just in case you wonder why Sikorsky makes the BIG helicopters...........