Hi Ralph,
Just look upon the whole thing as a game...unfortunately the CAA have the bat and the ball.
In my experience it's simply too easy for them to say 'no', and then you have to reverse a decision, rather than your current position where they haven't made a decision. This will take much more time than you expect, it may take more money than you expect. You'll need to say please and thank you more than you feel is warranted and when you find that your case - for which you've waited three months for an answer - has been adjourned for a 'more pressing case' you'll simply have to suck it up and be patient.
It took me 14 months to achieve what was achievable in 2 - 3 months tops. I have no great faith in UKCAA but they are fair, so long as you provide all the evidence that they ask for and anything supporting that they haven't asked for.
Take a chill pill and find a project that gets you away from thinking of this 24/7.
Good luck and let u know how things go.
S
They're not fools but they're understaffed/overworked and have archaic protocols.