Originally Posted by
JohnBurke
I'm not afraid of the FAA, largely due to timely consultation with good legal counsel when appropriate...
Touche'.
...For a hundred bucks a year, the AOPA plan will provide enough coverage to handle most of what the average pilot will encounter, if not all. If not, it's a good place to start, with the ability to call with the simplest of questions, or to get a letter drafted, if need be. Boat payments? Hardly.
This is aviation, after all...
Agreed. I have been a subscriber of the AOPA legal plan for a few years and have used it a time or two as well. They cannot handle every legal topic but they can always provide a decent reference. It also good to have someone on your side when the going gets tough.
...Of course they're not a bunch of kangaroos. Don't be ridiculous. Kangaroos are useless when it comes to paperwork. Inspectors, conversely, live and die by it.
As for professional pilots, the ranks of inspectors are largely peopled with those who couldn't make it in private industry, and generally leave one quite underwhelmed.
I defer to your experience in this. I only have met a few FAA inspectors in my time and most of those were very sweet. :)