ahkahn
92Echo
- Joined
- Oct 13, 2014
- Messages
- 94
- Reaction score
- 13
Hi everyone,
So I just closed today on my new-to-me '76 Lance... if you've seen my other posts here and elsewhere, it's been a wild ride. Anyway, after an 8-week annual and some extensive work, this Lance is running like a champ...
On to the question:
So, after my first run with an instructor, I wanted to play with the emergency gear extender. I saw it tested in the mx shop probably 4 times (emergency and regular gear extension) with no problem (they tested it a ton of times without me there). So my instructor was playing with it, then I started playing with it trying to figure out exactly how to deploy it.
I pushed the emergency extender down, felt the gear begin to move, saw the "Gear Unsafe" light come on, and let up on the lever thinking that the wheels had been released. I didn't realize that you have keep the emergency lever pressed down for around 10 seconds until 3 green. Since nothing subsequently happened, we went ahead and dropped the gear normally, got 3 green, the "Gear Unsafe" light went off, and all was good. So, next, we raised the gear back up, the green lights went away, the "Gear Unsafe" light illuminated, but did not go out. We decided to cycle the gear a couple more times, but each time when the gear would raise up, the "Gear Unsafe" light would not go out... only when they were down with 3 green.
The instructor wasn't comfortable enough with the system to continue, so we returned. We talked to the mechanic who thinks we should take it up again and play with it a little more. He said he could jack it up if we don't have any more luck, but since he just spent 8 weeks with the plane, and they gears are consistently coming down OK, he thought we should check it out a little more before he plays with it. (ie. user error!)
A buddy with a Saratoga told me that because I stopped the emergency extension part ways that that may have thrown the pressure sensors off and that I should do a full emergency extension until 3 green and then raise them.
Any other thoughts?
Thanks!
Andrew
So I just closed today on my new-to-me '76 Lance... if you've seen my other posts here and elsewhere, it's been a wild ride. Anyway, after an 8-week annual and some extensive work, this Lance is running like a champ...
On to the question:
So, after my first run with an instructor, I wanted to play with the emergency gear extender. I saw it tested in the mx shop probably 4 times (emergency and regular gear extension) with no problem (they tested it a ton of times without me there). So my instructor was playing with it, then I started playing with it trying to figure out exactly how to deploy it.
I pushed the emergency extender down, felt the gear begin to move, saw the "Gear Unsafe" light come on, and let up on the lever thinking that the wheels had been released. I didn't realize that you have keep the emergency lever pressed down for around 10 seconds until 3 green. Since nothing subsequently happened, we went ahead and dropped the gear normally, got 3 green, the "Gear Unsafe" light went off, and all was good. So, next, we raised the gear back up, the green lights went away, the "Gear Unsafe" light illuminated, but did not go out. We decided to cycle the gear a couple more times, but each time when the gear would raise up, the "Gear Unsafe" light would not go out... only when they were down with 3 green.
The instructor wasn't comfortable enough with the system to continue, so we returned. We talked to the mechanic who thinks we should take it up again and play with it a little more. He said he could jack it up if we don't have any more luck, but since he just spent 8 weeks with the plane, and they gears are consistently coming down OK, he thought we should check it out a little more before he plays with it. (ie. user error!)
A buddy with a Saratoga told me that because I stopped the emergency extension part ways that that may have thrown the pressure sensors off and that I should do a full emergency extension until 3 green and then raise them.
Any other thoughts?
Thanks!
Andrew
