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Gear Up for Water Landing. You sure?

BSEC

Registered User
Ham Lake, MN
Are they?

We lost an experienced amphib pilot from MN on a WI lake over the weekend. The 182 flipped over on landing killing the pilot. The gear is extended in the wreckage but apparently the gear selector was in the up (retracted) position and the breaker was popped. We probably won’t know the full details for awhile.

Coincidently I know two other pilots who experienced hydraulic lock on their amphibs over the same weekend. Both corrected the problem without incident. However it could be the same thing may have happened to the 182.

Look out your windows and visually verify the gear position if you can. You've seen the video... Water landings with that gear down will make for one heck of an abrupt stop.
 
This is one that I have beat on for years. I think the gear indicators now available for amphibians are good devices, but I still feel strongly that EVERY amphib should have a set of MIRRORS mounted such that the pilot can VISUALLY inspect all gear positions prior to arrivals.

A while back I took a Multi Engine Instructor flight test. At one point, the examiner commented "Boy, you sure are paranoid about the landing gear position--you're making three or four gear position inspections and call outs for every landing". My response was that most of the retractable gear airplanes I fly are amphibious.

Paranoia is a good thing when it comes to amphib gear position.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the pilot, and may he rest in peace.

MTV
 
I used to fly a C-206 on amphibs. I was like Mike. I was checking the heck out of that gear. If I had passengers I briefed them to double check the gear also. Unfortunately most amphib pilots will only get to make that mistake once.
 
Back home we rebuilt a Helio Courier on Seamaster amphibious floats. The plane had been sitting out on the ramp in Ketchican for about 10 years exposed to mother nature and rotting away. Anyway the gear system absolutely sucked. It used proximity sensors like a burglar alarm on your household window would have to turn on the up/down lights. There was no mechanical contact, just a magnet over a sensor. Luckily it was not tied into the hyd pump (pump ran as long as you held the selector switch in the up or down position and used a relief valve to bleed off excess pressure) The up/down lock for the main gear relied on having the proper cable tension and adjustment of the bow gear. After spending a few days messing around with the system we came up with a procedure to ensure the hyd ram had travel all the way out or in. Gear switch up-count to 35 ( lights usually came on at 30 sec) select gear up on the emergency hand pump - pump until it stopped ( about 3 pumps ) there is no relief valve on the hand pump so when it stops pumping the ram has hit the end of its travel. Same thing for gear down, run the pump 5 more seconds after the lights come on and use the hand pump to confirm the ram has hit its stop. Then you have to pray that the cables have not stretched or the bow gear pillow block has not moved and the up/down lock is in place. The only aid you have is a dim white light that is visible through a fwd and aft 2" plexi window over the main gear slider tube. The light is attached to the sliding pillow block and should be in the window when the gear is up/down. Needless to say the owner of this plane bellied it in on about his 10th landing in it. Nice white skid marks down the runway.

Jason
N3673T
 
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