Cessna 207 at PIB Airport

JLHernandez, on September 22, 2007, said:

That Cessna 207 isn't the plane I thought was a Cessna 207, the landing gear is not retractable.

I recall now the plane was a Cessna 210, also for 6 passengers. It had retractable gear for sure, and the propeller was variable pitch with 3 blades.

Islandguy, on September 23, 2007, said:

You are correct. The Cessna 210 does have retractable gear, and 6 seats.

The Cessna 207 can have 8 seats. It also has an extra luggage compartment between the engine and windshield. It also has variable pitch prop with 3 blades. The engine is a 300 Horsepower, "6 Cylinder Horizontaly Opposed" engine. It has 520 Cu. In. Displacement, and it is fuel injected. It is made by Continental.. Model IO-520. I may send a picture of engine later.

JLHernandez, on November 7, 2007, said:

Islandguy,

Check this video about a twin engine plane landing without wheels.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2007/11/07/fl.emergency.landing.baysnews9

I wonder why in these situations the pilots do not land on the grass instead.

Wouldn't that avoid a lot of damage to the belly of the airplane ?

Islandguy, on November 10, 2007, said:

Landing on the grass MIGHT avoid some damage, but not always. The grass next to a runway should be pretty smooth, but you have a lot of lights, and drainage swales and ditches to run into.

Landing on grass would avoid all of those sparks and flames and the risk of a big fire.

And most pilots these days never land on grass runways, even when the wheels are down.

I think landing on grass strips is fun. It can be challenging though. Tall grass, or a soft or muddy runway can make a take-off more difficult. And wet grass, especially in the morning, can be very slippery, worse than ice.... brakes are useless...

I land on grass strips whenever I can to save wearing the tread off of my tires.

Also, in a "gear up landing" situation... some airplanes are better than others. That Beech Baron is probably one of the worst.

Piper twins have a little bit of the wheels hanging below the engine nacelles, and in the nosegear well.... a gear-up landing will mess up the unopened gear doors, allowing the plane to "roll" down a runway.....

And Piper and Cessna airplanes also have very sturdy foot steps near their doors, that will scrape along on a paved runway and protect the rest of the belly from excessive damage.

And repairing the belly is only the "minor" part of the repair expense. Whenever any part of a propeller "touches" anything except AIR;... the propeller would need to be overhauled or replaced, in addition to a complete "teardown inspection" of the engines.