Fair comment, I remember working with them and they seemed very capable then. But it was 20 years ago.
Circling back to Ark Royal. I don't the idea will float (
). You only have to go to Excel and look across the dock and there's plenty of derelict land which could be used as a heliport. Much cheaper to build and run than an old CVS. Not much in the way of residential development either. I still dont think it would get through dock gates. It was never built for ships of that size.
Also, who are these 150 Veterans? Are they just milling around somewhere in East London?