Chancros
I couldn't agree more. The lack of forward leaning and the unwillingness to take risk has stiffled the UK's UAV/UAS program - we have to fly half way around the world to fly them in Woomera rather than in less populated regions in the UK. Let's face it when was the last UK fatality to civilians on the ground in the UK with an aircraft in development - was it Derry's accident at Farnborough in 1952? It was hardly low-density in populace - they were watching him display!
What's stopping invovative design IMHO? The "Britishness" of always following rules to the letter (I'm sure I K Brunel cut a few corners in his time!) - what with so many rules and regulations from the UK, Europe and Internationally I'm not surprised. The CAA and MoD are classic examples of this. Furthermore, the slide away from Engineering of all types being a well paid profession compared to other countries has led to a "brain drain" and a lack of newcomers, who would rather spend 8hrs a week reading Underwater Basket Weaving at Uni, also compounds the problem. The lack of apprenticeships - in the UK's eyes everyone must become a graduate regardless of subject! We even got rid of apprenticeships in the RAF - we said goodbye to Jenior Technicians this decade and let's not forget Sir Frank Whittle, the father of the jet engine, was an apprentice entrant!
So, in short, yes I agree. How do we fix it? Great leadership from the very top and the willingness to stop the current surge in degrees/academia in arts subjects that stiffle the chances of any future innovation surge. Finally, a willingness to invest in R&D as the budget has been slashed significantly in the past year - however, with the overstretch in the budget we can't afford to invest in developing things we'll never afford.
I'll get off my soapbox now
LJ
PS - I got my HND in Eng back in the 80s before deciding that flying aircraft was likely to be more my thing (luckily for me I probably made a better show of being an operator than a maintainer!).