Without knowing the full circumstances it's impossible to say one way or another.
If flying a level "platform" for a close in intercept of the glidepath/visual approach then 1700 agl for the gear selection isn't out of the question...
then again if you're descending on the more traditional ILS 3 degree slope then 1700 feet above the airfield is probably about as late as most of us would want to leave it...
then again as HD has implied ...
if you're 8 miles out from the airport
and on a 3 degree slope you should be about 2400 feet above airfield level, and FR has it's limitations....