> But it’s enough to give clients both anonymity and coveted US registration for their planes
Well, a US registration is "coveted" because of fairly reasonable and light regulation for GA (general aviation) aircraft (and the pilots who fly them [1]). Other jurisdictions (EU) are cracking down on N-registered planes based in their territory, though. It's not like the US registration is prestigious or hard to get or anything.
However, as it happens, only US persons may register a plane in the US (don't quote me on the exact terms, IANAL). That means that if you want to operate an N-registered airplane as a foreigner, you have to go through a trust (or some other legal construction, IANAL). That's why there's a cottage industry for those, and I suppose criminals tag along happily.
[1]: The Chicago convention established (a long time ago, after WW II) that every country ("contracting party") would have a register of aircraft, and a register of pilots ("airmen"), and that a pilot of one country with an aircraft registered in the same country could fly in that country, of course, and also all other contracting parties. So, if there's an N-registered plane (i.e., an aircraft registered in the US) based in Europe or Asia, a pilot with an FAA license (i.e., an airman registered in the US) can fly it.
A pilot from country A can fly a plane from country A in country A (of course) and B and C and all other countries (by Chicago convention), but can't fly a plane from country B in country A or B necessarily (there are exceptions) or country C or any other country.
As FAA rules for pilots are fairly reasonable and benign, a good number of (non-commercial) pilots internationally likes to fly on a FAA license in N-registered planes.
My understanding was that 2 out of 3 of the pilot certificate, the airplane registration, and the country had to match.
Mine are N-registered and based in the US, but if I ever took one to Europe, you can be damn sure I'd keep it on a N-reg. Europe's regulations are positively insane where ours are just slightly daft.
Not generally, it depends on the country, from what I gather. Can’t fly with an FAA license in a German plane in Germany.
It’s funny, you can fly a German plane with a German license in Germany (safe, apparently), and an American plane with an American license (safe), but not a German plane with an American license or vice versa, AFAIK.
Some countries make exceptions - I believe it was ok to fly a UK plane in the UK with a FAA license (but then you couldn’t fly it to Germany, while with a US plane or UK license you could).
> Can’t fly with an FAA license in a German plane in Germany.
I used to fly a British registered aeroplane (G-reg) in Britain, with an Australian licence. However, I couldn't fly that same aeroplane over the channel to France. For that, I'd need a British licence.
This was mid-2000s. Don't know if regulations have changed since.
While this is true factually, the practical benefit of the US registration is the social benefit of being able to flout rules. For drug runners, they have an easier time just radio'ing down passport numbers if they have an american flag on the tail.
Well, a US registration is "coveted" because of fairly reasonable and light regulation for GA (general aviation) aircraft (and the pilots who fly them [1]). Other jurisdictions (EU) are cracking down on N-registered planes based in their territory, though. It's not like the US registration is prestigious or hard to get or anything.
However, as it happens, only US persons may register a plane in the US (don't quote me on the exact terms, IANAL). That means that if you want to operate an N-registered airplane as a foreigner, you have to go through a trust (or some other legal construction, IANAL). That's why there's a cottage industry for those, and I suppose criminals tag along happily.
[1]: The Chicago convention established (a long time ago, after WW II) that every country ("contracting party") would have a register of aircraft, and a register of pilots ("airmen"), and that a pilot of one country with an aircraft registered in the same country could fly in that country, of course, and also all other contracting parties. So, if there's an N-registered plane (i.e., an aircraft registered in the US) based in Europe or Asia, a pilot with an FAA license (i.e., an airman registered in the US) can fly it.
A pilot from country A can fly a plane from country A in country A (of course) and B and C and all other countries (by Chicago convention), but can't fly a plane from country B in country A or B necessarily (there are exceptions) or country C or any other country.
As FAA rules for pilots are fairly reasonable and benign, a good number of (non-commercial) pilots internationally likes to fly on a FAA license in N-registered planes.