Olympia 463
Interesting you mention SA80. Many years later, one of the reasons for its poor reputation emerged - the IPT had lost design control through failure to implement the same regulations. (There is little difference in the basic regs across Air, Land and Sea domains - the process changes a little at the end when it comes to certification. They, too, regarded this as a 'waste of money'). Also interesting you mention ITDU. The Land equivalent, if you like, of A&AEE Boscombe Down, who were serially ignored when they gave formal notification of the systemic airworthiness failings that we're talking of here. The reaction from on high was the same - we're not putting up with that, your posts are being cut. I recall, at ITDU in 2002, four crucial Army posts were resurrected and actually funded by the project office at Abbey Wood, not the Army.