So, you’re a yachting professional – probably one of the up-and-comers in the 20- to early-30-somethings range – and you’re thinking how much grander the world would be if more regulation concerning certifications and operations became the rule of the day; how much faster you’d be able to climb into the wheelhouse with four stripes on your shoulder if such were the case.

Take it from your kinfolks in aviation: Be careful what you wish for.

Back in 1958, former President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed into creation the Federal Aviation Administration. Up to that point, there had been no federal office dedicated to regulating civil aviation in the United States.

Now, while it was a good idea to have such an office, retired, but highly decorated and accomplished Air Force Lt. Gen. Elwood “Pete” Quesada, who was appointed as the FAA’s first-ever administrator, reportedly didn’t think much of civilian-trained aviators and set about to whip everybody flying non-military missions into shape.

Over the years, debate has raged within the industry as to whether the FAA is unreasonably burdensome and, at times, just outright unreasonable.

True, general aviation has grown increasingly complex with private jets capable of flying around half the globe unrefueled and being able to stay aloft as much as 16 hours.

No doubt, new rules have had to evolve with the complexity of the industry and, unfortunately, enforcement mechanisms have had to be implemented to ensure compliance because aviation, like all other industries, has cockroaches who do everything imaginable to get around the regulations, who spend more time doing that than what would be required to just follow the rules like everyone else.

Of course, the actions of those few make things unnecessarily harder on everyone else.

And, that’s the problem.

Aviation regulations have evolved to the point that it’s hard to figure out exactly what the rules are telling you. Sure, the FAA expects you to simply follow the rules, but figuring out how to do that isn’t as simple as it sounds.

The FAA doesn’t exactly make it any easier because each and every rule is up for a different interpretation depending on which FAA inspector you’re talking to. (Sounds like the U.S. Coast Guard, doesn't it?)

FAA inspectors are given wide discretion to interpret the rules on “behalf of the Administrator” and this often provokes a situation in which what is right today is wrong tomorrow.

Generally speaking, FAA inspectors are hard-working, conscientious professonals who will, if you work with them and do what you’re supposed to do and demonstrate a willingness to be professional yourself, readily help you with compliance issues with as little heartburn as possible.

Try to flim-flam them by playing fast and loose with the rules and you do that at your own peril. Any FAA inspector on his or her own authority can immediately suspend your operating certificate or pilot’s license, effectively putting you out of business immediately.

They won’t care, either, that you have plane full of high-net-worth individuals expecting an immediate departure for a week-long stay in Cabo.

Suffice to say that as the aviation industry has grown and the operating environment has become more complex, the rules, regulations and certifications have become both increasing complex and amazingly vague.

“Ninety percent of my job is to protect our operating certificate,” said Chuck Caldwell, director of operations for Houston-based Wing Aviation Charter Services. “The rules are changing all the time and what our inspectors expect can change right along with them. We have to stay up on the changes as well that our inspectors want to see in order to make sure we stay in business.”

The need to maintain strict paper trails and accurate documentation is key, he said. (Sounds like the USCG again, doesn't it?)

“We generate thousands of pages of documentation for everything from maintenance to flight operations, but it’s that paper that keeps us flying,” Caldwell said. “We maintain spotless records that are totally transparent and we spend zero time trying to get around the regulations.

“In fact, we work hard every day to cultivate a positive relationship with our local FAA office and our inspectors so they know we are always trying to do the right thing, that we are not trying to hide one single, solitary thing about our operation,” he said. “We want to partner with the FAA in order to get along with the FAA and stay in business.

“If the FAA thought for one second we were doing anything less, they’d shut us down on the spot; no doubt about it,” he said.

Put in that sort of perspective, U.S. Coast Guard regulations maybe aren't quite as onerous as you thought.

Sure, the Coast Guard is interested in safety, seeing to it that proper rules are in place to ensure that safety and that yacht crews – especially captains – are properly trained and knowledgeable.

Flight crews, though, are required – again by regulation – to complete recurrent training and certification twice a year, which includes classroom stints, simulator training and check rides as well as semi-annual medical checks, all in order to keep making a living.

For every flight, there’s at least an hour’s worth of paperwork that must be completed and manuals required by the FAA of each certificate holder detailing each certificate holder’s operations. How those operations are to be carried out are in a constant state of review and update. It’s the responsibility of all crew members to know those “ops specs,” what’s in them, what’s been changed in them and how to apply them at all times. Ignorance of the law is never an excuse.

Slip up for one minute, fail to carry out or comply with one regulation or one part of one regulation, and you could very well find yourself sitting on a sand bar.