Nick Lappos,
In your response to Dave Jackson you list the cost of new design testing at 20 to $40,000 per hour and half that for a small trainer.
Your numbers seem incredibly high to me.
I have no experience with helicopter testing but I have done fixed wing certification testing and the cost was about $20 per hour labor plus a few hundred for custom test jigs. This was at a small family owned airplane factory without any engineers on staff, just me and the owner.
The FAA did not charge for their time.
I think a determined individual could certify a new design with minimal funds.