Interesting thread!
I have a little 757 experience and hope this helps a wee bit. All you have heard about the gear problems and normal operation is correct. A couple of extras bits and pieces for you though.
The 757 is equipped with a system called EICAS Engine Instrumentation and Crew Alerting, it senses most of the parameters that at one stage were monitored by a flight eng. With a gear problem the PRIMARY indication of that problem is the EICAS, if you select gear down, don't get three greens and also get an EICAS Gear Disagree message, then you have a problem and given the time a go-around is probably the safest and least rushed option. If you do not get three greens and also get NO EICAS message, you do NOT have a problem and there is an indication problem, in theory just continue because the gear IS down. Testing the bulbs by pressing the test switch for the lighting can be more trouble than it is worth, and a button I will never allowed to be touched in the air. I can not think of many things worse than it sticking in the on position and illumination the whole flight deck up, masking any further problems for the resy of the flight, but each to their own! As for doing fly pasts, daytime, maybe not much use if it is at night especially if it is a main gear problem, one thing that can save you though is that the landing lights are on the nose gear, so only when it is down and locked do they come on, I have in the past flashed them at our ground based colleagues, if they see them flash and there is no EICAS message, it's a pretty safe bet the gear is where it should be.
Good luck with the book.
Jazzy
