FAA doesn't know FBOs.

The FAA is governed by 49 USC 40113 etc from whence 14 CFR springs, the
beloved FARs. The FAA is mandated to do things in some areas, has discretion
in some others, while the remainder are outside the FAA's benevolent sphere.

FBOs that have a certificate (141, 142, 135, 125, 121) and so on in the
maintenance arena, come under the FAA required work programs.

If no certificate then it depends on resources. In my FSDO we do assign ASIs
to part 61 operators, the operators like having (1) no certificate, but (2)
a single point of contact. However the operator can ignore us as long as
nothing goes wrong if they so choose. That extra work does NOT count towards
an inspector's "complexity" (work load).

As resources dwindle, for example the 2 year hiring freeze in the FAA, more
work will be contracted out (see last week's NPRM - where 141, 142 and some
other certifications will be delegated outside the FAA) and less
discretionary activities will happen.

Simon
AWP-FSDO-SDL