It can be done but it will have compromises as well, I was just wondering if you had a better idea is all. A 3 minute basic design would be sufficient.
Cessna single retractable gear
- Thread starter bill834
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It can be done but it will have compromises as well, I was just wondering if you had a better idea is all. A 3 minute basic design would be sufficient.
Not if the gear is out of rig and the transmission self destructs. I've seen a Baron totaled from a belly landing. Ground up the spar carry-through.
Beech also had the same looking switch for the flaps and the gear for a period of time. That was smart.
Could Cessna have done better? Probably. Does one emergency fot one person constitute an entire system in thousands if aircraft faulty? Not hardly.
Could Cessna have done better? Probably. Does one emergency fot one person constitute an entire system in thousands if aircraft faulty? Not hardly.
Dan Thomas
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Dan Thomas
Think about it. Where do you put the main wheels in a high-wing airplane? In the engine nacelles on a twin, like a Dash 8, maybe, but a single gets a little more complicated. Swing them forward and they'll need a well right where the pilot puts his feet, but they'd come down on their own. Anywhere but where Cessna put them just ain't gonna work.
If the system is maintained properly it's more reliable than the engine and will give no trouble other than the unfortunate cracking issues, and cracking issues aren't limited to Cessna singles.
Dan
If you think there has been only one, you are very mistaken. There is a reason they put out an AD on the hydraulic power pack.
A few people burned to death because of it. I am very lucky.
I know a flight school in Texas that uses 172RGs (they have 2 I think) and they have had 2 gear problems in as many years.
MyassisDragon
Line Up and Wait
Could anyone provide some actual performance comparisons (apples to apples) on a 182 non turbo fixed vs retractable. (not googled Risingup or pilotfriend ect)
IE: average cruise, GPH, Climb ect.
This would be valuable stats to put in the cost of ownership equation.
IE: average cruise, GPH, Climb ect.
This would be valuable stats to put in the cost of ownership equation.
JimNtexas
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Jim - In Texas!
I complained directly to the FAA Administartor at Oshkosh in ~2006 that the FAA would not approve a 337 to add a 'pump running' light for our Cardinal RG.
About a year latter someone came out with an approvable kit. All it takes is to run a wire from the pump motor to an led on the panel.
We installed it right away. It's really important to have this modification in a Cardinal, and probably most other Cessna single retracts.
With respect to the OP's question, the gear on our '71 Cardinal isn't a nightmare, but it does cause occasional sleepless nights. Some of the micro-switches are almost inaccessible under the cabin floor.
Signature broke the nosegear doglink while towing our Cardinal a couple of years ago. Cessna charges $17000 for this part! Signature, with the consent of our regular mechanic, sent it out to some aerospace welding shop to be repaired. I don't know what this cost Signature, but it was less than $17K.
The most expense gear repair our club has had was close to $10K on our Archer to get a DAR to create one a time STC to helicoil the landing gear bolts on our Archer.
The best GA gear system I've flown with is on the Duchess. That gear wants to come down, and the airplane has to fight to hold it up. Cessna single engine retracts are the opposite.
An instructor at my flight school was nearly burned to death in a Supercub. Another close friend of mine had a severe electrical fire in a 172. My mom had one in a Navajo. No airplane is immune to electrical, hydraulic or mechanic failures unless they completely lack those systems, or fuel for the fire... There are inherent risks to what we do, and people have to understand that. No airplane is safe 100% of the time from 100% of everything.
Wouldn't it have been cheaper to just buy a salvage wing?
However some airplanes are more prone to it than others. When you design a system that is ass-backwards, you have problems. I know more people than I can remember who have had trouble in Cessna retracts. Many members of this board.
Tony, Spike, Udi, and myself have all declared emergencies in some flavor of Cessna retract. I can't remember if Sam has or not, but I know he has had problems with them before. Spikes was electrical IIRC, and had nothing to do with the gear.
I can think of 4 more people that I know IRL.
I don't know anyone who has had a gear problem in a Bonanza or Mooney, but I do know of one man who confused his flap and gear handle.
I can think of 4 more people that I know IRL.
I don't know anyone who has had a gear problem in a Bonanza or Mooney, but I do know of one man who confused his flap and gear handle.
There's a reason why Barons, Dukes, and Bonanzas all use the same system. It's a damn good one.
And I don't know of any. But I know plenty of people who have had plenty of life-threatening problems in airplanes of all makes and models.
Cessna retracts aren't for everyone. Heck, retracts aren't for everyone. But people should be able to get opinions on both sides of the fence, not just the one that says "you're going to burn to death". I flew another hour in mine today uneventfully. I don't think it's fair to put the fear of god into a group of people who don't know any better and who want varied opinions of the upsides and the downsides.
I helped a Mooney off the runway when the gear collapsed a couple of years ago FYI. I did forget to mention the 1 182RG I saw with a gear issue had put the gear up while still on the takeoff roll. You can' fix stupid.
I would never tell someone that they were going to burn to death in a Cessna retract. I would tell them to carry a good insurance policy and a smoke hood, along with some gloves though.
Biggest problem I've seen on any retract is a short circuit between the pilot's seat and the gear selector if you get my drift. 
tonycondon
Gastons CRO (Chief Dinner Reservation Officer)
i didn't technically declare an emergency and the problem in my case would've been easily avoided if the service bulletin applying to the nose gear downlock pins had been complied with.
i have no significant time (maybe 1 flight each) in 172RG, 177RG and 210, but in the 182RG you can tell the pump is running by a major discharge on the ammeter and dimming of the cockpit lights.
I always thought that on the 182RG the pump was in the belly down by where the main gear pivots. The hydraulic reservoir is up between the rudder pedals, and i check the level before each flight.
i have no significant time (maybe 1 flight each) in 172RG, 177RG and 210, but in the 182RG you can tell the pump is running by a major discharge on the ammeter and dimming of the cockpit lights.
I always thought that on the 182RG the pump was in the belly down by where the main gear pivots. The hydraulic reservoir is up between the rudder pedals, and i check the level before each flight.