Chinook240
Excellent questions and, indeed, they are reasonable. I'm sorry I am no longer in a position to answer them but please continue asking them. I'll answer as best I can.
All I can say is that the new MAA seems to be heading in the right direction, although of course it will take many years for them to rebuild the competence and corporate knowledge the likes of AMSO ditched to generate funds to replace those he had knowingly wasted. It concerns me though that they seem very top heavy, with no-one at the grades/ranks where the real hands-on experience lies. Also, one wonders what those at the top really know, given anyone under 50 in DE&S is, almost by definition, irredeemably tainted by the policies and practices they have been exposed to this last 25 years. There are exceptions, but the exception should be those who know little.
It also concerns me what will happen when the forthcoming cuts are announced. At a time when hundreds of millions, possibly much more, is required to achieve the above, the pressure will be on. When the same "pressure" was on AMSO in the late 80s/early 90s the deliberate decision was to compromise safety, and it was left to a few lowly civilians with airworthiness delegation to fight the good fight. The only difference then was the funding crisis was of his own making, not the work of some bankers.