Wed, Aug 25, 2004
The Ambiguous Amphibians May Retract/Extend... Once Each
Flight
By ANN Correspondent John Ballantyne
A recent ANN report
covered the FAA meaning of "Repositional landing gear" for Light
Sport Aircraft. Because the Sport Pilot and Light Sport Aircraft
rule is brand new, there is much interpretation and clarification
going on within the aviation community and FAA itself. In fact
such interpretation and reinterpretation goes on
constantly even with rules that have been in practice for
decades.
In the case of "Repositionable Landing Gear," FAA has written
the following guidance to ANN. FAA also expects to provide
additional guidance in upcoming advisory circulars.
Here is what we have now directly from FAA:
FAA intended for a repositional gear to be repositioned,
typically only once during a flight. The pilot would have the
ability to reposition the landing gear during a non-complex phase
of flight, such as cruise, if there was need for the position to be
changed to accommodate the landing site. There would not be any
degradation of aircraft performance due to the landing gear
remaining extended in-flight.
This is different from a retractable gear, which typically is
retracted immediately after every take-off and (hopefully) extended
for each landing. This activity usually occurs in the high workload
phases of flight, immediately after takeoff and before landing.
The FAA does not consider the repositional landing gear to be
complex from an operational standpoint. The FAA will consider the
design, manufacture, and maintenance of a repositionable landing
gear to ensure it meets the simplicity intended for light-sport
aircraft. This is unlike a retractable gear, which is considered
complex, from an operational, design, manufacture, and maintenance
standpoint.
Further guidance addressing repositional landing gears will be
made available through FAA guidance materials, such as the Sport
Pilot and Light-sport Aircraft Advisory Circular.
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