A typical full flight simulator has 1,200 or more Input/Output (I/O) points, comprised of a combination of digital inputs (DIs), digital outputs (DOs), analog inputs (AIs), analog outputs (AOs), synchros, and resolvers. In a conventional I/O system, discrete wires are run to each I/O point through a series of connectors, cables, and distribution panels before arriving at an I/O cabinet where the signal is digitized and transferred via high-speed bus to the host computer. The system is complex and is a bottleneck for both hardware development and hardware/software integration (HSI). For example, when several panels share a common distribution panel, every panel must have its wire assignments complete before the distribution panel can be complete and HSI cannot begin until all the connected systems are ready to be powered. To eliminate these bottlenecks and to reduce the overall complexity of the system, BAE SYSTEMS has investigated various embedded computer system products for decentralizing the I/O system. We have concluded that commercially available products can effectively meet the computational and networking requirements of a distributed I/O system for flight simulators and do so at lower cost than the typical centralized system. However, further analysis of this concept revealed additional savings by decentralizing the power distribution as well. The result was the development of a unique I/O-Power module that fundamentally alters simulator development. This paper discusses the analysis and development work conducted to draw this conclusion.