Being cynical about this (and incidentally, I have perfectly good design approvals and B-conditions of my own thanks, this is on my own behalf only insofar as I have been dragged kicking and screaming into the debate and am not being allowed to ignore it) the people pressing for it wish to avoid the cost of going through a formal design review before trying something out.
My personal instincts are initially that the whole idea is daft, and that anything leaving the ground should go through a formal design investigation, then be properly test flown by a competent TP. A lot of people in the GA community are telling me I'm wrong, and really I'm trying to either (a) find out I am, and why, or (b) confirm my prejudices with evidence I can use to prove the point.
What I suggested above is my best stab at, if it's going to happen, how to minimise the risks.
G
[ 29 December 2001: Message edited by: Genghis the Engineer ]</p>