Dan Marotta wrote on 9/8/2018 8:49 AM:
Fair enough, but I haven't landed gear up because I have had great training and
have good habits in the landing pattern.* And "5J, left base, gear down, 26" is a
lot less congestive than a lot of dissertations I've heard on the radio.

On 9/8/2018 8:37 AM, wrote:
On Saturday, September 8, 2018 at 7:30:29 AM UTC-7, Dan Marotta wrote:
Someone asked me recently, "Why do you always say, 'Gear down and
locked', over the radio when you turn base?"* The stupidity of the
question meant to me that there was no answer which would satisfy him.


I suppose a radio call adds another check, that a ground observer might hear,
look up, notice something, and have a radio at hand. I personally doubt it adds
very much, and radio congestion detracts from overall safety.

'There are no stupid questions, only stupid answers'

Have you considered a gear warning device of some sort? I haven't landed gear up,
either, and I don't say anything on the radio, but I have used a variety of gear
up warnings, including a welding clamp, a buzzer, and a vario. The systems have
saved me three times so far.

The radio call works best when someone on the ground enforces it, as we did at our
recent motorglider camp at Parowan, UT. If your entry to downwind didn't include
the "gear down and locked" phrase, a friendly voice on the radio asked you about
your gear position.

I also have a spoilers unlocked warning. It activates when the spoilers aren't
locked as the airspeed exceeds 25 knots.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to email me)
- "A Guide to Self-Launching Sailplane Operation"
https://sites.google.com/site/motorg...ad-the-guide-1
- "Transponders in Sailplanes - Dec 2014a" also ADS-B, PCAS, Flarm

http://soaringsafety.org/prevention/...anes-2014A.pdf
I