De-lurking because I couldn't resist this one... and because I am employed by one of the companies mentioned above. Contrary to what AC says, most avionics companies have had some pretty major cuts following 9/11 so nobody can skate by on past accomplishments. Any engineers of the kind described above are now living on unemployment or pensions from early retirement.

FWIW, the code I see on a daily basis is highly modularized (who can afford to reinvent the wheel?) but even if it weren't, I wouldn't want to fly in an airplane that has OO code in it just for the sake of being OO. You want the software in those black boxes to be safe and rock solid.

If safety bores you, the flying public should thank you for moving on. Sheesh.