Actually a DAR is not much different from any of the other FAA “Designated Representatives”:
Designated Engineering Representatives (DER), Designated Manufacturing Inspection Representatives (DMIR), Designated Pilot Examiners (DPE) , Designated Mechanics Examiners (DME) and Designated Manufacturing Inspection Representatives (DMIR)
… and act like FAA Employees with one HUGE difference: they are free to charge whatever they like …
From the FAA website :
“Each time the program expanded, regulatory notification provided justification for the expansion by saying service to the public by designees will be faster than service provided by FAA. Overall, government costs will be reduced. Amendment 8 to 14 CFR part 183 suggests that, “… safety will be enhanced because FAA personnel relieved from tasks accomplished by Designated Airworthiness Representatives will be able to redirect their efforts to other areas affecting safety.” The delegation system continues to grow in numbers of designees."
And all of these are rare as hen’s teeth in Europe, which is reflected in their fees 
But what about the new expiring registration certificates? I think that’s unrelated to airworthiness however.
Has anyone used a DAR they would be happy to recommend? I have used two in the past and both are no longer designees, one died and the other got in a row with the FAA. I think it works out cheaper and less hassle to use one from America, rather than pay business class airfares in Europe. You need to keep the magic type writer safe 
Peter wrote:
But what about the new expiring registration certificates? I think that’s unrelated to airworthiness however.
A non-expired 3 year registration can be renewed on line in a couple of minutes for $5, using a credit card. The new paper registration certificate then comes quickly in the post, to a US address anyway. If the registration is long since expired, I think they may eventually delete the record and you then have to reapply in person. Wait long enough and they may reuse the N-number. How renewal of a long expired FAA aircraft registration would be done from overseas I don’t know, but you are correct that it is a paper process intended only to maintain a record of what planes are currently in existence.
The US trustee normally deals with this. Well, the reputable ones do. I am with SAC.
The US trustee normally deals with this
…and they (at least Aircraft Guaranty) charge an audacious amount of money for that…
I don’t know if there is any way to shortcut the trustee charge, short of
You recover the money several times over on the first Annual by cutting out the Subpart G fee
I pay about 400 quid.
The new 3-year FAA aircraft registration cards have an expiration date printed on them, so you can at least bug the trustee company to renew if they don’t do it themselves. One potential issue is that FAA mails a renewal notice with a numerical code that’s required to renew on line. If the trustee misplaces it before completing the on line renewal, that could be a hassle. I do mine within a couple of hours of receipt through the mail, that way I don’t forget or lose anything.
Re fuel prices, I’ve been comparing European and US prices for about 15 years, and regardless of simultaneous movements they always seem to differ by roughly a factor of two. Recently Avgas prices in my area have been dropping which is good because I flew 3.5 hrs over the weekend. Fuel is in the range of $3.70 to $4.30 per USG at the moment, or €0.94 per liter.
Peter, what I was saying that Aircraft Guaranty charge extra, (125$ IIRC) for the Registration renewal, which I was unpleased about, since it would cost me just 5$ and a few minutes. But apparently, it’s not possible to cut the trust out from this process.
boscomantico wrote:
But apparently, it’s not possible to cut the trust out from this process.
Yep, same goes for the Radio Licence, etc.
break – break
+1 for SAC with just 1 caveat :
Since they are in the UK, as opposed to the Stateside, if/when you need something from an FSDO, ex. lost AW Cert, Reg. number change, etc., you will automatically have to deal with a European based DAR !
This, IMHO, is a serious potential PITA .
