Originally Posted by
B2N2
Rip out the rear seat and cut the hydraulic lines for the gear to freefall?
Works on a Pa28R Arrow (allegedly).
* I was once told this story by an individual who was a fresh CPL who let his passenger in a Piper Arrow hold the control wheel as he ripped out the rear seat and murdered the hydraulic lines to get the gear to come down.
Wasn’t me but made for a good story.
Only works if the backup system is a gravity free fall, and it failed. If the system has up locks, an actuator has busted and a myriad of other problems then cutting hydraulic lines will probably just make a big mess. Also this advice won't work in Arrows from the late 70s onward as they moved away from the bench seats over the flap/battery, to single seats attached to a covered floor. I'm not sure even the older bench seated arrows you could access the hyrdaulics, but who knows. Sounds like a stiff talk with whoever did the last gear checks on that old machine, esp the free fall test, is warranted.