So I bought, and brought back to service, a vintage Mooney. Its my 2nd one and I'm very proud of this kind of work. The more old Mooneys we can pull from hangers and return to flight the better the world is for it. I registered it with the FAA, shocked that the federal registration was only 5 dollars, but that seemed about right since all it can possibly be is a couple key strokes inserting my name in place of the previous owners name....done.
Now I stand at the mail box with a form in my hand from the state. They would like to have $60 to also register the aircraft in my state which is apparently not part of the country since I already satisfied that requirement. They also have in place (4561.18) an additional $500 fine if I don't.
Hmmm....2 questions immediately come to mind: What could I possibly be doing to this state, by owning an airplane, that would cost 60 dollars to cover their expenses? And what, pray tell, are they providing to me since the same investment would get me 300 miles away in my little airplane if I spent it on something real....like fuel!
Honestly does anyone know what the state needs with separate registration fees when there is already a national registry that provides nearly everything a person might need to assume your identity?