Warbird Information Exchange

The nose gear won't go down because the wheel comes out of the well facing the wind and rotates 90 degrees as it goes down.

BDK, WINS !! The nosegear will hang while the mains lock down . We came into the break once at about 185 mph, threw the gear handle and got two greens. Took a minute to realize that we were a little fast. Once she slowed a little everything worked as advertised. Never made that mistake again.

Seeing Jack's picture with the gear in transition brought back old memories. The nosegear gets about as far down as the one in the picture. The A-26 essentially freefalls out of the wells when selected. The emergency cables unlock the uplocks and the gear drops.

Got any Korean B-26s, Jack ?

The Pilot Training Manual for the A-26,which was a late WWII transition manual for the airplane,contains a couple of cautions concerning gear extension.

From page 37 titled "Main Landing Gear"

"The wheels of the main landing gear of the A-26 extend against and retract with the slipstream.This is why you must pay strict attention to airspeed limitations for lowering the gear."

From page 38 titled "Nose Gear"

"Important Landing Gear Tips

The No. 1 rule that you must always observe is: Do not attempt to operate your gear until your airspeed has dropped to 160 mph or less.Your nose gear does not extend at higher speeds,and you may cause damage by attempting it."