The restorer sat under the right wheel well of Sis with a flashlight and mirror to inspect the inside of the wheel well and beyond that into Sis’ wing, the same procedure is performed on the left wheel well and finally the nose wheel.
Sis is a 1947 Beechcraft Bonanza model 35, one of the first 1000 off the assembly line. For all intents and purposes, she is my big sister as I have grown up flying with her and now am her caretaker.
Within tolerance. We can proceed with the swing and inspection of the system.
Getting back into Sis felt foreign and like home at the same time. While she was up on a jack, it was stable though felt a bit off to be that high off the ground in the hangar.
The restorer put in the battery to do the gear inspection. He said 3 extensions would be needed.
His evening reading of late has been a purchase made from the Bonanza Society while at Oshkosh: The ABS Landing Gear Inspection and Checklist along with the annual inspection guide from the Beechcraft shop manual.
During the swings, the restorer is looking at various areas throughout the process:
- Gear cycles normally and within the allotted time
- Gear door fit
- Gear sequence
- Step retracts in conjunction with nose gear retraction
We reviewed the emergency gear extension checklist in the Pilot’s Operating Handbook and discussed where the restorer would stand – in my line of sight – when the gear was in motion.
- Pull out the circuit breaker,
- Select landing gear down
- Engage the handle to crank down the gear
- Turn counterclockwise 50 rotations
- Verify down with mechanical indicator and lights
- Disengage the hand crank
To retract after extension:
- Verify hand crank is stowed
- Push in the circuit breaker
- Move the gear lever to up position
As the throttle will be in an idle position a horn will sound when gear is up. The engine will not be running but this mechanical horn is triggered by the combination of gear and throttle positions.
All aircraft with retractable landing gear have an alternate mechanism to extend the gear in the event of an emergency. Some are hydraulic, others freefall into place. Beechcraft created this mechanical means of extending the gear without electricity for Sis. While the mechanism has been beefed up over time, newer Bonanzas still have a hand crank.
I practiced pulling the circuit breaker before we went any further. So much easier without motion!
Switching the master on, lights within the panel come alive for the first time in ages. Sis opening her eyes!
When the restorer asked for the gear to go up, I reached over to the right side of the panel and moved the gear selector up. Whirring and whizzing of the gear mechanism and doors as the mechanical pointer at my feet moved from down to up was a loud and welcome noise ending with the firm thud of the gear doors closing.
The restorer reminded me the horn would sound with the gear up and the throttle pulled out to idle. I nodded my head in agreement, he then asked for gear down.
I jumped out of my seat and took a deep breath before advancing the throttle to the horn. The restorer then called for the circuit breaker to be pulled which I did.
Wow, I didn’t remember the horn being that loud. It’s certainly louder without engine noise.
The restorer examined the gear frozen in transit down, then asked for the circuit breaker to be pushed back in and the gear continued returning to its original position. Hearing the familiar sounds and bumps during the transit was comforting.
The gear was returned to the up position for the next cycle.
Manual Extension
While some aspects are different from doing the procedure in the air, the ability to refamiliarize myself with the process without the additional responsibility of flying the aircraft is a win.
The location of the hand crank is behind the pilot seat just above the floorboards.
If this were to happen for real, the airplane would be slowed to gear extension speed and trimmed before beginning the procedure. If two crew members were on board, one would fly the airplane while the other cranked the gear down. If only one on board, looking out for traffic while cranking and monitoring the situation would be a handful but doable.
Ok here we go.
Pull the circuit breaker next to the gear handle then select gear down.
Begin cranking counterclockwise, it takes a bit to get started but keeps going smoothly.
The horn goes off because the throttle is out, push the throttle in until it stops.
In flight, it would take more effort due to wind resistance.
Keep cranking, while momentum helps it feels like forever to get the gear down. Especially the last 15 or so cranks.
Finally, it couldn’t go any further, I looked up at the green gear light illuminated for down along with the mechanical indicator saying the gear was down.
The last gear swing went without issue.
Uneventful, everything went as it was supposed to. A sigh of relief as other items could be addressed and we could keep going with the inspection and bringing Sis back to life.
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