Just wonder what your heart beat goes up to when you realize.................
Only ever did it once in a piston twin. Making an approach in low cloud and poor vis to a small airfield. I had my eyes glued for the runway. The aircraft ran back into scud cloud so told the man in the right seat I was going around.
Just as I said that lo and behold there were the numbers poking out of the goom.
Grabbed landing flaps keeping my eyes glued on the runway, started to flair just as I glanced down. Shock Horror NO GREENS.
Full power pulled the nose up as the ugly truth dawned and I waited for the props to strike, climbed away immense relief. Props must have been a foot above the runway at one point.
Having said going around in this single pilot aircraft and my eyes glued to the gloom outside the man in the right seat had retracted the undercarriage trying to be Oh so helpful and forgot to tell me
When I think how close that was to a gear up it makes me shudder.
It all very well with bells and whistles which pilots ignore or dont take in but you would have thought with technology a voice command "Gear Gear Gear" would be far more appropriate in all retractables not the few!!!
It can happen to you no matter how careful you think you are in the right circumstances or should I say wrong circumstances the dreaded gear up can jump up and bite.
Pace