Revised 06/02/2019
Page 2
have taken the practice of switching the gear to that neutral position after take-off and gear retraction.
Once I see the white light is lit, I move the switch to the center notch.
Gear - Approach to Landing
The required placard on the dash says: “Ldg gear dn-locked - 150 mph” but we have an aircraft whose
airspeed indicator is in knots! 150 mph = 130 knots. However, the ICS issued POH says 108 knots is
recommended. I assume that is the recommendation to lessen the stress on the gear and gear motor. I
try to follow this recommendation. This means planning descent and slowdown 30 nm or so from
landing to leave sufficient time for a gradual let down. When the speed is on the edge of the white arc, I
lower the gear. One benefit of this is it slows the plane further and I don’t have to worry about being
inside the white arc when I want the first notch of flaps.
When lowering the gear, remember the center/neutral position mentioned above. Be sure you are in
the bottom position. The gear takes 8 seconds to fully extend. Look for the green light. I try to follow
the habit of saying my gumps check on downwind and again on final.
The gear up/down lights are pretty noticeable during daytime operations but can be difficult to see
when the nav lights are on. If in doubt, momentarily extinguish the nav lights to confirm the gear down
light is illuminated.
Where’s the brakes?
This old girl has a hand brake, not differential toe brakes like we all know. When I first got her, I thought that
would be something I would want to modernize. By the second flight I was quite comfortable using the hand
brake and stopped caring about the missing toe brakes. If you’re worrying, this is what you need to know.
When you need to brake, you will reach out, grab the handle and pull on it, and the airplane will slow down.
Since there is no differential braking, you can’t turn very tight. Give yourself a little extra room for turns and
you’ll be fine. The engine is willing to idle as low as 500 rpm, so throttle back, (remember to lean) and grab that
handle when you need to brake!
To set the parking brake, pull the brake handle first, then grab the parking brake “T” handle and pull it out until
it stops, then release the hand brake. To release the parking brake: push the “T” handle all the way in. Note
that the hand brake becomes ineffective when the parking brake handle is extended. If you have the parking
brake engaged and the plane starts creeping, push the T handle all the way in as you grab the hand brake and
you’ll be fine.
Starting
This aircraft has a starter button next to the key switch. The switch only controls the mags. As a result, it is
possible to crank the engine without the mags turned on. (In case you wonder, it won’t start in that
configuration!) If you crank and don’t get any indication of start, check that you have the key in the switch and
that it is rotated to the right to the “both” setting.
