Thought I would advise you of our findings following the gear down operation
selection
problem. We raised the aircraft and carried out the retract test, and
thankfully were able to repeat the fault.
A good look round the gear showed nothing even remotely obvious, and no witness
marks. We centred our investigation around the flaps. We removed the two rear
inspection panels on the parcel shelf and the small box we had made to fit under
the right side and with one of us stuck through the D panel, operated the
gear - all worked perfectly.
It turns out the said stowage box (pretty small - GPS size) under the right side
panel was just interfering with the rear flap torque tube. It had clearance
when up or down, but midway just caught the mechanism enough to cause a
resistance.
We carried out 50+ tests after finishing the installation and a further 2 or 3
for our inspector - all without problem. The box may not have been made for the
50 tests, and may have been removed for access to inspect parts during the sign
off process, - their's a moral their somewhere !!
ATB
Tony
PS Seasons greetings to one and all.
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