Nick,
Did youse guys in snowy Connecticut doing any testing on prolonged flight operations with the gear down on the 76 or just limit it to confirming airspeed limits as designed?
I thought the conventional wisdom around the Sikorsky shop was that flying with the things bolted down on the 76 was operating them in a manner that lay outside the design concept and thus was a walk on the wild side over time.
I wholeheartedly agree that returning the aircraft to a completely serviceable and air worthy condition beats the practice of seeing just what the aircraft can fly without.