Cats Five, no need to apologise at all - I wasn't all that clear in the first post of this series.
Like you, I suspect that the majority of the aircraft will be Ok, unless the RAF's maintenance systems and standards have collapsed completely, which I don't think is the case. I've often posted my admiration for the professionalism and quality of the RAF personnel I've worked with.
But something bad has happened here. Actually, it shouldn't take a 'long and detailed inspection' to resolve the paperwork issues - again, these are simple aircraft. Extremely simple. As simple an aircraft as you can get into the air in. No systems to speak of, simple construction, low stress levels in operation, low g limits, and so on. So what the heck is taking two and a half years and counting? We've had a number of good informed guesses, but b****r all decent information.
The best I can come up with (and this comes with a 'speculation alert' - sorry), is that the following issues might have had a part to play:
1. Repairs not being recorded on the Airframe Log Card
2. Lack of a proper Topic 6 leading to repairs that don't have a full approval
3. Lack of a proper support contract and a proper Design Authority
4. Poor supervision and inspection of contracted maintenance activity (already admitted to)
5. Poorly contracted support (cheapest always wins)
6. Organisational 'churn' in both MoD and RAF leading to loss of focus on the fleet
7. Premature destruction of maintenance related records (this has already been admitted)
It would be interesting to read any reports eventually issued (yeah, right) to see how far on or off target I was.
Best Regard as ever to those untangling this lot,
Engines