On Saturday, October 22, 2016 at 9:56:15 AM UTC-5, Dan Marotta wrote:
Wish I could have helped.

But don't fly with your gear down - you may just retract it in the
pattern before landing then. In the Air Force it was mandatory to give
a gear check call over the radio to receive landing clearance. Get into
the habit of using a written checklist which includes a gear check and
make that radio call. And look at the gear lever before making the call
and afterwards, as well. It takes less than a second. And make sure
the Up and Down positions are clearly labeled so there's no confusion
should you get into a rush.

Dan

If I can add to Dan's excellent advice, make it a habit to retract the gear immediately after releasing from tow - and checking it! I bet everybody flying a retract gear glider has had the experience of getting distracted when releasing and forgetting, usually leading to a friend asking on the radio if there is a reason your gear is hanging! But I have also seen a pilot (in a new glider) cross over the field after an XC flight, with the gear obviously still down, then RETRACT IT on downwind. A quick radio call from the ground corrected the problem, fortunately, before an expensive short landing roll/slide.

Even better, IMO, if you have a nose hook, is to retract the gear while still on tow. I bring up my wheel passing through 1000' on tow; one less thing to worry about when releasing low into a tight little thermal...

Cheers,

Kirk
66