Sorry if I repeat myself here - but there's an important point that all pilots should understand.
You all have an absolute right to assume that the aircraft you sign for is airworthy. In a nutshell, that means that the assumption that it's safe to fly is based on a solid body of data and evidence that refers to the precise configuration of the aircraft you're flying. It also means that the aircraft has been properly maintained, modified and repaired throughout its life.
I repeat - you should not have to question this. But after seeing this shambles, if it's an Air Cadet glider, you should.
Ask to see the record of airframe repairs. Ask to see the register of Technical Instructions applied to the aircraft. Take a look at the Release to Service and have the engineers prove to you that the aircraft you are flying is exactly the same as the one specified in the RTS. If you're feeling fresh, ask who the ADA is. Or ask to see the latest Airworthiness Review.
You shouldn't have to do any of this. Your engineers might get grumpy. If they do, tell them "I'm doing this because you haven't been doing your job".
Oh, and don't accept any bromides such as: 'We were short of manpower because we had a problem with another aircraft', or 'The ATC was a bit of a backwater' or 'It was contracted out' or 'it was a corporate failure due to multiple reorganisations'. Get personal. Your engineer officers, every one of them, are officers in the Armed Forces who sign up to a code of ethics and assume professional responsibility in exchange for good pay - just like you. They are charged to do ANY job properly - just like you. They appear to have failed miserably at a basic core task.
Again, apologies for the tone here - I've thought this post through for a while, but I can't get past the extent of the RAF's failure to protect its aircrew, not to mention the civilian kids they were flying around. Like many who post on PPrune, I've done my share of funerals of young men. It's only the greatest good fortune that has prevented deaths in this case.
Best regards as ever to all those engineers looking after their pilots,
Engines