On second viewing I see the prop and mixture levers are not only full up but this excellent PIC repeatedly nudges them to ensure they stay there . When airborne the prop levers are typically slightly off for synchronizing . I have instructed, vacationed, sprayed, and flown marine research in Senecas. For that last assignment I leased N5022T, ( Robertson STOL, full span flaps, spoilers for roll control, and large wingtip aux tanking). Ferried it to Port Aransas, TX, from Arizona, and flew daily eight hour grid at 50 MSL up to 200 NM offshore ... Dodging choppers and oil rigs. As shown in ?1981? PBS "Heartbreak Turtle" documentary.
Enjoyed this video, especially the "Trying to shake it loose" manouver. Glad all ended well and not often a steady position found for the camera AND quality picture.
Good video. Interesting thing is I flew a Seneca a few days ago and encountered the same exact problem. Noticed on base that there were not 3 green and the gear unsafe light was on. The Seneca a fly has a mirrir by the left engine naecelle, so you can see if the nose gear is down, which it was not extended. Checked circuit breakers, all were pushed in, then pitched and yawed the aircraft for a few seconds while on final and gear came right down.
arguably one of the best landings is a seneca on youtube! Seems like everyone sticks em in on all 3 gears or on the nosewheel. Really great work and an interesting situation indeed!!!!!
@CaptainBergs I was doing about 115 or 120 MPH when I tried extending the 1st time, which is belwo the max speed for gear extension. It was a pretty cold day when I flew and rthought maybe the uplocks were frozn or something. Maintenance checked into it the next morning and turns out the hydraulic fluid was low. You raised an interesting question to me about being too fast. I wasn't aware the gear in the Seneca would not extend due to being too fast..maybe snap off
The mixture is fully rich, you can see the pilot check twice before the go-around. As for the gloves, I don't know. I have flown with a number of pilots who like to wear gloves.
Shouldn't the prop and mixture levers be full forward on short final every time in anticipation of a possible go-around? Is it camera perspective or are props back a bit and mixtures a lot?
Didn't fly this aircraft yet, but for the planes I flew: prop pitch full forward and mix normal for the altitude. And it looks like my friend on the pilot seat did it this way.
So was it just the gear indicator that malfunctioned? Or did they shake it loose? In any case glad the outcome was good. PS maybe a camera or just a mirror on a stick could be helpful in this situation
Couple of points if I may.... 1. That was some pretty extreme maneuvering to try and shake the gear down. Limits of what i would say is safe with full control deflection. Is it better to damage the air-frame by over stressing it and risking a structural failure (but hay i was not there) 2. Taxing it back in WTF? I mean WTF? unsafe gear.. Land it (nice job) shut it down while it is still on the legs, get out and have a maintainer inspect it before taxing it back. Sorry if it blocks the runway but you would look like a real goose if it collapsed a gear as you tried to turn it off the runway after a safe landing. Yes I have had a gear failure before and yes I did leave it on the runway! Turns out the gear was down but was not safe and had we taxited it there would have been a C340K busted up on the taxiway!!
Plus, the plane could have been damaged or immobilized tons of other ways. Ramp vehicle running into it. Tearing the gear off with too aggressive towing or exceeding limits.
I'm a commercial & military jet structure mechanic (and have comm/intr pilot's cert but fly just for fun). I haven't worked on very many general aviation birds, but I will comment that it is truly very, very difficult (some would say nearly impossible) to damage an airplane by control deflection movements alone below maneuvering speed.
I fly with fingerless nomex military gloves when I fly, it depends on what side of the cockpit I am on. Think about it, hard plastic yoke, soft leather palm! Great job of flying!
@macsolly Gloves for a few reasons which differ from pilot to pilot. Personally I wear them in winter to stop my hands getting too cold-the heating in light aircraft isn't always great. Some people wear them because they offer protection in case of a cockpit fire so that you can still control the aircraft. Some wear them so they don't have to touch controls everyone else has touched-diseases and all that. Others so they are not sweating onto the controls in summer-it varies.
THAT is how to land a Seneca and pretty much any recip twin or single: intermittent stall horn and nose held off with increasing back pressure as airspeed and control effectiveness decay. Too many incompetent egomaniacal CFI train single engine recip students by airline techniques from day one: crabbing instead of significant wing low slip on crosswind short final; flattish touchdowns, etc. let the goddamn air line transition them Fly right in what you're flying right now. Learning in Taildraggers ensures nose low TD never happens . Admittedly two big boys in the nose of an empty Seneca is a challenge best ameliorated by strapping 50 or 100 pounds to the aft baggage floor. The ubiquitous case of oil works pretty well. The sleek, elegant, twin Comanche is even MORE prone to careless inattentive dimwit pilot nose first landing impact followed by porpoise possibly due to its relatively large nose tire.
What tosh, in piper aircraft, if you have the nav lights on, they dim the panel lights, a usual problem caused by poor instruction and pilots who dont know their aircraft.
