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Originally Posted by Joe Kerr
Is there a fine for flying an unregistered plane? I would think it is like cars and boats and need registration.
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There very well could be. It's up to the FAA. I suspect this airplane is properly registered as well as marked. The FAA allows for older airplanes to be "grandfathered in" with their old markings. The N number is likely on the other side of the vertical stabilizer, or possibly even on top of the right wing.
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Pilots, do you ever see a plane coming from behind with flashing blue lights?
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No, but if you do something dumb, you might be met on the ground where you landed, or you if you do something REALLY dumb you might even end up with a military jet/helo "escort" somewhere. If you see an F-16 off your wing, you're probably not going to enjoy the rest of your day.
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Are there unlicensed pilots and unregistered aircraft in the air? There are many private airstrips or landing areas scattered around New England. Could someone continue to "fly under the radar" like that? Would it be easier than piloting a small unregistered boat without a boater education certificate?
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Without a doubt there are unregistered aircraft and unlicensed pilots. The problem is much more pervasive in rural areas where enforcement is hard. For the most part, and especially when operating out of private, non-towered airports, pilots do not ask permission to take off, land, or fly where they want to go. There are areas where you would need to ask permission to enter or at least establish radio contact with ATC to enter, but it's easy to avoid those if you wanted to.
Alaska is quite "lawless" in this respect. I read somewhere that the FAA's goal was to get at least 50% of the pilots in AK certified. As for this airplane, the fact that is has a MA registration sticker means it's registered with the FAA as well since the MA registration is dependent on the FAA registration number (i.e. the N number).