Gear up landings can happen to ANYONE...

Dudley Henriques wrote:

"Matt Whiting" wrote in message
...

wrote:


http://www.sftt.us/cgi-bin/csNews/cs...iewone&id =41

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1629804/posts

Yes, I've been flying a retractable for only two years now and am paranoid
about making a gear-up landing. It can obviously happen to anyone.


Matt


You're right, and the way to approach this issue is by realizing exactly
this, then setting up a personal regimen for a pre-landing cross-check that
is deliberately formated to be an exact final cross check procedure executed
the same way as a habit pattern every time you fly.
There are many of these axioms in use, and every pilot has his/her own
favorite. It doesn't matter which one is used, as long as it's used exactly
the same way every time you fly and at the same place in the approach every
time. This has to become an ingrained habit pattern.
My own personal cross check in ADDITION to the required regular pre-landing
checklists, and the one I taught for years to every pilot I trained was the
following; done on final.
This cross check was always said aloud and each item had to be touched and
verified as it was spoken.
"All good pilots must land fine check"
Each word was spoken individually as it was checked
All: Altimeter
Good; Gas
Pilots; Prop
Must; Mixture
Land; Landing Gear
Fine; Flaps
Check; Carb Heat (if applicable)
50 years in retracts. No wheels up landings :-)))

I use the GUMPS check, but as you say, the important thing is to do the
same thing every time, no matter what the circumstances. This is
obviously easy to say, and easy to do assuming no distractions of any
substance. My concern is distractions.

I run the GUMPS check on downwind, after completing the turn to base and
after completing the turn to final. I then do one more check right
before crossing the runway threshold: I look at the runway lights and
say "lights, lights." Which is when I see the runway lights I double
check the gear lights. Takes just a second and it is one last reminder
to check.

I hope my two years becomes your 50 years! Although, I likely won't
hold a medical long enough for that to happen as I was mid-40s when I
first flew a retractable.


Matt