Backup for dropping the gear

"Rick Durden" wrote in message
m...
You have got to expand your horizons g.

That's always been true.

In a number of the Piper
singles the gear does come down if the engine takes the day off.

But not because of the failure of the hydraulic system. Kyler's comment
clearly was based on an assumption that without engine power, there would be
no hydraulic pressure, and that without pressure, the gear would drop (the
first assumption being the incorrect one, but the second is incorrect in
other airplanes as well).

And actually, while I haven't flown the Pipers you're referring to, my
understanding is that the gear extension was based on airspeed, not engine
power. Your comment about the behavior of such systems in icing conditions
would seem to reinforce this understanding. Perhaps you could elaborate on
why it is you say that engine failure alone will result in the gear
extending.

Or perhaps you meant that the drop in airspeed that normally results after
an engine failure (to achieve best glide) is enough to cause the gear to
extend. In which case I'd argue that it wasn't the engine failure, but the
airspeed change that caused the gear to extend (I'd also wonder why the
system was designed such that the activation airspeed was at or above best
glide...seems pretty non-optimal to me).

Pete