G-KEST: "The real point is that no such organisation currently exists other than the PFA which does hold the necessary approvals from the CAA now.
It has taken over 50 years to establish the credentials of the PFA and respect world wide for the level of technical expertise they have in house and through their network of approved inspectors and test pilots.
Any alternative organisation might find it an extremely difficult task to reach a similar level of fitness to obtain and hold any official approval within any acceptable timescale."
VP says:
You're right about the situation today, but within a few months another organisation might well be able to take on the job equally as well. It certainly isn't a 50 year job to get to where the PFA is technically, although I know from first hand experience that the PFA's FD, JT and Co do a grand job and I'm not knocking them in any way.
As an example, there is another organisation that exists right now, with an equally good, or perhaps better in some respects, network of inspectors and test pilots, plus an established and CAA approved technical department. I doubt it would be terrifically difficult for them to expand their exposition to cover a wider field, if they chose to.