On Mar 7, 4:11 pm, Mxsmanic wrote:
Jim writes:
Any plane with retractable gear and prop control is considered
complex.
[lots snipped]

It still surprises me that moving a lever to extend or retract gear makes an
aircraft complex. An autopilot or GPS is a lot more complex than a gear
lever.

It's not just the gear. Complex = flaps + gear + controllable prop,
where of course it's the combination of gear + prop that's the truly
"complex" part. "Complex" is just a word, anyway, as someone else
pointed out. They could've called it anything, but the point is that
a pilot must get training before being allowed to fly such aircraft.

Which makes sense... I mean heck, sometimes I think that automobile
drivers should be certified for manual transmissions. I see way too
many drivers who are very scary to be behind, when starting on hills
with their new 5-speed ;-)

Kev