quote:

Originally posted by wingspar:

while taxiing to the ramp, he raised his gear instead of his flaps.

1. Early Bonanzas had a row of "piano key" switches on the far right of the panel; pilot had to reach way over to get to them, and at a quick glance they all looked similar. Yeah, it is possible to distinguish between the landing gear switch and the others by feel, but it is far too easy for a pilot who is careless or complacent, to pick the wrong switch.
   
   
2. Mid-year Bonanzas (and Travel-Airs, DebonAirs and Barons), manufactured after the piano key arrangement was discontinued, but prior to 1985, had more conventional type switches, but non-standard switch locations. The landing gear on these was on the co-pilot side, and the flap switch was on the pilot side.
   
   
3. More modern Bonanzas (and siblings), manufactured after 1985, have the conventional arrangement with pilot-side landing gear switch and flap switch on co-pilot side.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by wingspar:

while taxiing to the ramp, he raised his gear instead of his flaps.

One of my pet peeves. I have a bit over 3,000 hours as PIC* in the Bonanza family, about 1,200 hours as instructor. I always make it clear to my client / trainees, that there is absolutely no valid reason to retract flaps while taxiing, and any attempt to reach for the flap switch while I am on board will not be tolerated.

The "standard" -- or at least the most common -- arrangement in most airplanes has the landing gear switch on the pilot side of the panel or center console, and the flap switch on the co-pilot side.

I am aware of at least three different arrangements and location for flap and landing gear controls in Bonanzas:

1. Early Bonanzas had a row of "piano key" switches on the far right of the panel; pilot had to reach way over to get to them, and at a quick glance they all looked similar. Yeah, it is possible to distinguish between the landing gear switch and the others by feel, but it is far too easy for a pilot who is careless or complacent, to pick the wrong switch.
   
   
2. Mid-year Bonanzas (and Travel-Airs, DebonAirs and Barons), manufactured after the piano key arrangement was discontinued, but prior to 1985, had more conventional type switches, but non-standard switch locations. The landing gear on these was on the co-pilot side, and the flap switch was on the pilot side.
   
   
3. More modern Bonanzas (and siblings), manufactured after 1985, have the conventional arrangement with pilot-side landing gear switch and flap switch on co-pilot side.

Because there are different arrangements of these controls in similar airplanes, it is all too easy to grab the wrong one, and retract the landing gear while intending to retract the wing flaps after landing. Yes, there is a "squat switch" -- this was on the right (co-pilot) side main landing gear strut on my V-Tail and all other Bonanzas that I recall. The purpose of this switch was to detect when there was weight on the landing gear, implying that the airplane was on the ground (not airborn), and preventing the gear from being retracted if the control switch was moved to the "gear up" position, but the squat switch did not always work. An A&P mechanic can tell us for sure, but as far as I know, the squat switch is not one of the items on the standard 100-hour inspection checklist.

I have been known to re-inforce my "don't touch it while taxiing" policy, by forcibly restraining a pilot who was reaching for the flap switch while the airplane was in motion. I absolutely insisted on touching this switch only when the airplane was at a complete stop and the pilot was focused on retracting the flaps after verifying that s/he was reaching for the flap switch and not the landing gear switch. Kind of like double-checking that the gun is unloaded without the distraction of doing something else at the same time.

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Pilot In Command for the acronym haters

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by wingspar:

while taxiing to the ramp, he raised his gear instead of his flaps.

One of my pet peeves. I have a bit over 3,000 hours as PIC* in the Bonanza family, about 1,200 hours as instructor. I always make it clear to my client / trainees, that there is absolutely no valid reason to retract flaps while taxiing, and any attempt to reach for the flap switch while I am on board will not be tolerated.