It's not all about economy. Flight systems are pretty complex and once cannot just have recording devices positioned everywhere (that's sorta like R2D2 pluggin

It's not all about economy. Flight systems are pretty complex and once cannot just have recording devices positioned everywhere (that's sorta like R2D2 plugging in some obscure data port and breaching into the death star). Black boxes are meant to resist temperature, pressure, elements and shock while keeping data secure enough for a long time until the box is recovered. There was an excellent program on how black boxes are made and tested on Discovery or NatGeo (can't remember which), but this was the next best thing I could find http://www.yourdiscovery.com/video/discovery-news-what-does-a-black-box-do/ http://www.yourdiscovery.com/video/discovery-news-what-does-...