Could someone please explain to me what ways there is to have an N-reg aircraft serviced in EU?
I have a small hint how it works, but would like to have a more deeper understanding.
Can a EASA maintenance shop do an Annual or smaller jobs?
Who can service it?
Fly West at LFFK maintains (or did) a number of N reg aircraft. A Brit who lives at a nearby airpark and had the appropriate FAA qualifications then comes over, checks out the work and signs it as apt for return to service (my translation).
It is same as N-reg anywhere else including the US.
All work (beyond pilot privileges) has to be done by or under the supervision of an FAA A&P. So an EASA shop (that is, one employing some totally unqualified and some qualified EASA66 mechanics) can do the work but under the supervision of an A&P.
It is identical to the EASA-reg regime. The work is done by, or under supervision of, an EASA mechanic. The people actually doing the work can be totally unqualified; this is necessary otherwise nobody could learn on the job.
You need an A&P/IA to sign off the Annual, and some other tasks like inspecting and signing off STC installations and all other work involving a Form 337 (Major Alteration).
Servicing which is within pilot privileges can be done by yourself, but needs to be signed off in the logs with your FAA license number. The exception is AD compliance checking (then you need an FAA A&P) but there can be exceptions (see link).
I recommend the Search function. Remember that N-reg needs to be in quotes: “N-reg”
What changed in Europe is that c. 2011 Brussels mandated dual papers for N-reg pilots if the “operator” is based here. This was mostly postponed but supposedly that ended June 2022 (I have not been able to get anyone to confirm that) and it ended Dec 2021 in the UK. So you need both FAA and Euro papers.
Peter wrote:
The exception is AD compliance checking (then you need an FAA A&P) but there can be exceptions (see link).
An owner/operator can also validate the applicability of many ADs. For example, if an AD calls out a model with s/n range of a part that can be inspected or checked by review of records, without doing any “maintenance”, then that can be signed off by the owner as N/A. One could argue that no signoff is needed at all in that case, but it is certainly useful to keep records of all those ADs for reference.
The question posed in the OP is really just a special case of general maintenance activity on an aircraft when outside its country of registration. Any owner travelling abroad should know before leaving what options are available for his/her aircraft in case of AOG or a forced extended stay beyond validity of various repetitive maintenance items…… Annual Inspection, Alt/Static/Transponder checks, etc, etc.
An EASA (or UK CAA) Part 145 with FAA authorisation can sign off all maintenance work and 337s without needing any involvement from FAA AP or IA.
An EASA (or UK CAA) Part 145 with FAA authorisation can sign off all maintenance work and 337s without needing any involvement from FAA AP or IA.
Interesting. No need for FSDO involvement for field approvals then?
Well… it is true that work done inside an FAA 145 company doesn’t need an A&P/IA.
Field Approvals still need an FSDO. But there are other processes available e.g. here and some of these are more favoured in Europe because e.g. paying a US mail-order DER to do an 8110 (and billing the customer for 2k or so) avoids dealing with an FSDO completely.
As one of the linked posts explains, an FSDO has no more authority than an A&P/IA when it comes to 337 (Major Alteration) work.
We are going down a rabbit hole here though 
Can a FAA authorized EASA 145 organization sign of ANY 337 work?
Source: Savvy Aviation
In contrast, major alterations must conform to FAA-approved specifications, must be inspected and approved by a mechanic who holds an inspection authori- zation (IA), and must be documented in an FAA Form 337 submitted to the FAA. In short, minor alterations are basically non- events as far as the FAA is concerned, while major alterations involve a fair bit of FAA- mandated rigmarole.
Specifically, a major alteration must be made in accordance with “approved data” that has been signed of by an FAA employee or designee. (In this context, the word “data” connotes drawings, specifica- tions, methods, techniques, and practices that define exactly how the alteration is to be made.) There are four principal sources of such approved data: a supplementary type certificate (STC) obtained by the developer of the alteration and approved by the FAA; an airworthiness directive issued by the FAA; a field approval obtained by the aircraft owner and approved by the FAA; and data approved by a designated engi- neering representative (DER) hired by the aircraft owner.
A major alteration must also be inspected and approved by an IA, whose job it is to verify that the alteration was indeed made in accordance with the approved data. (Note that the IA does not have the authority to approve the data— such approval must come from an FAA employee or designee.)
Finally, a major alteration must be docu- mented on an FAA Form 337 signed of by the mechanic who performed the alteration and by the IA who inspected and approved it. (The two are often the same person.) The Form 337 must incorporate or identify the approved data used to make the alteration. If the approved data is not an STC or AD, then the form must also be signed by the FAA inspector or DER who approved the data. Once all the necessary signatures have been obtained, the form must be sent within 48 hours to the FAA Aircraft Records Branch in Oklahoma City, where it becomes a part of the aircraft’s permanent file.
Can a FAA authorized EASA 145 organization sign of ANY 337 work?
A 337 is just a form which is completed to cover a Major Alteration. Of itself, it means nothing special and anyone authorised to sign a 337 can sign any 337.
The potentially tricky bit is what work the 337 form is covering and what supporting documentation (e.g. STC) is being presented.
But none of this is relevant to the OP topic. This all works the same way for an N-reg whether in Florida, in Germany, or in Kathmandu
And remember that if you do 100hrs inspection it must be done by A&P, it can’t be supervised
