Volume - I don't agree!
First of all, I am not too familiar with the certification progress' in Germany, but according to the book "Deutsche Motorflugzeuge nach 1945" (I think it is published by Motorbuch Verlag) the Speed Canard had to be modified from its original design in order to receive the LBA airworthiness certificate.
I am not saying that the LBA is solely to blame for Dornier's decline. It just outlines the problem you run into when you have a business in Germany (and also Europe). Compare Dornier with Embraer quickly. For flight testing Embraer built a 16404 foot (5001 meters!) runway at the Gaviao Peixoto Industrial centre. You think that this is possible in Germany? By the time you mentioned this as an idea, you'd have 10 environmental groups protesting, and political discussions that basically kill the idea. Take a look back at the discussions involved in the Eurofighter programme. I agree that political discussions are necessary, since they are a form of democracy however, in Germany they cost businesses a lot of money and time. I still partly blame the German authorities for the fall of Dornier. Do you honestly believe that Dornier flight tested the 328Jet to its full extend in Germany? No, they couldn't because of noise abatement procedures, etc. . Some flight test were conducted at SAT in D-BALL which was wearing the Midwest Express colours. This is actually what Dornier employees and engineers in SAT told me. And I think that they are the best ones to ask about Dornier!
I am probably as sad to see Dornier go as you. But why do you think that Dornier was so slow in developing and getting their aircraft certified? Certainly not, because Dornier's employees' (ex I must say
)were lazy and slow.
I am the first one to support a European aircraft with potential besides Airbus. But can you really transform an excellent idea into a successful business in Europe these days with all the bureaucratic bu!!sh!t?
Oh, about immigration procedures. No doubt that US immigration procedures are lenghly and that many immigration officers are not very knowledgable. But have you ever seen the process in obtaining a visa ( Aufenthaltsgenehmigung) in Germany from people coming from the former Eastern bolck countries? That might surprise you. The reason I know about it is because our band invited some jazz musicians from St. Petersburg. And let me tell you ... the German authorities scared even me!