I agree that this newsgroup is not the final word on the regs, but
in my experience, you'll do no better by calling a FSDO for legal
interpretations. What they tell you carries about as much weight as
the comments you'll find here. FWIW, I find the folks here more
knowledgable about the regs than most of the FSDO inspectors I've met.

That is a really sad statement. I'm not doubting its validity, though
my contact with FSDO has been very seldom. But it is sad nonetheless.