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Bob,

I like it alot.

I intend to do my freefall test like you suggest soon at around 110 kts.  My
strut has about 3 years on it depending how one counts garaged time.  If 110
won't let it come down, I'll slow a couple kts at a time and make a note of
the actual extend speed.  This would tend to gaurantee success at a lower
speed if actually necessary.  Additionally, one could set a "throw it out"
speed say of about 95kts.

What I like about it is that we've not added some extra component or
attempted to achieve any kind of triple redundancy.  Some fuel transfer
systems I've read about seem to violate this principal.  For me a failed
fuel transfer pump leaves me at least 6-8 gallons (l hour) of header fuel
PLUS the remainder of the other wing tank (if needed).  That's adequate to
make a landing on a flat surface.

It is reasonable to assume that a hyd line, fitting, or the pump could fail
causing the total hydraulic fluid loss.  To me (if tested monthly) it is
improbable that on the same flight the pneumatic strut would also fail.

Does anyone have any horror stories of multiple failures in this department?
If so,  I'd consider a more proactive approach.

On  a slightly different topic I'd like to hear opinions on the preferred
set point of the "pitot static safety squat switch" from those of you who
have chosen to install one.

Larry Henney
N360LH

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