Out of curiosity, I looked up how to calculate the value of 1949 $ in today's money. Most of the calculator programs I found used the Consumer Price Index increase from 1949 to today (actually to 2014) and gave an answer of about $1440 for that $145 cost back then. So featherweights really were pricey little machines, weren't they? Should make most of us feel better about what we're paying for them today.