Landing Gear Lessons

[Bill Greenwood]

There's a good way to lower gear as you come to the pattern, not fool proof but close. Do we need this? Recently 2 ATP? CFI landed a Bonanza with full flaps down and gear fully up. And yes they knew GUMPS and had a checklist, they got distracted.
Let's simplify to one item, the only one required to make the landing, silly as it may sound is the landing gear. MAKE IT THE FIRST ITEM YOU DO WHEN COMING TO THE RUNWAY OR PATTERN, aS YOU TURN ONTO DOWWIND, LOWER THE GEAR AND VERIFY IT GREEN LIGTHS DOWN.
What if you don't go on downwind, like flying an instrument approach? Still, 5 miles out or 3 miles or wherever, iAF, lower the landing gear, AND DO THIS BEFORE YOU DO PARTIAL FLAPS OR PITOT HEAT OR ANYTHING ELSE
So what happened to the G in Gumps representing gas? If I am going cross country before I descend from alitiude, I switch to fullest fuel tank, I do not want to be head down and doing this in the midddle of an ILS nor a 800 agl on downwind, And I dont run the tank down to the last few gallons.
As I go down to the pattern I have only that one thing to concentrate on , lowering the gear when my speed allows and verify. I have caught it 3 times when not actually down , no green lights. . Once gear is down I can check correct approach speed or other items like prop forward or boost pump on if needed, and flaps as needed. only the gear is critical, less you are landing on a carrier.
PS and for taxi once again only the gear down is critical. You can even forget the pitot cover and it will taxi just fine or flaps up or down.

Some military training bases will remind the pilot to check the gear, always the gear not any other item from checklist. And larger planes may lower flaps to slow to gear speed, that's another subject.