So true.



"Matt Whiting" wrote in message
...
| Jim Macklin wrote:
|
| Years ago, a co-pilot for a local corporation asked me
to
| ride-shotgun in their old C 310 on a night flight in the
| local area. After ILS at KHUT and KICT with various
airwork,
| we setup for the final landing at KICT on 19R.
| At 200 feet I asked my friend a question, like this. "I
do
| most of my instruction in the Duchess and Baron and they
| have green lights to show the gear position, doesn't
Cessna
| do that?"
|
|
| The gear lights were completely out. He had not looked,
had
| just gone by the sound and drag change when he moved the
| lever. But a quick go-around solved the immediate
problem
| and some careful troubleshooting and wire tightening and
| bulb swaps got us three green after about 30 more
minutes.
|
| The things that kill, controls locked (or rigged
backward-
| happens), no fuel are definite before take-off rechecks.
| There aren't too many killers on landing assuming that
you
| have a place to land within fuel range, but landing gear
up
| is rarely a mechanical failure that couldn't have been
| prevented by proper maintenance. If your flying a Baron
or
| Bonanza, the gear is operated by three steel push-pull
rods
| connected to a solid gear housing. If one wheel is
down,
| they all have to be unless the rod has become
disconnected
| or bent. One the bigger Beech twins, the main gear is
| push-pull rods, but the nose gear is a bicycle chain,
which
| can break or jump the sprocket. It should be replaced
and a
| new sprocket used too every so often.
|
| Good maintenance and a good pilot make retract gear
safe,
| either one missing and you have problems.
|
| Retracts are pretty safe even if the gear is up. It just
makes the
| landing fee much, much higher. :-)
|
|
| Matt