So this kid is on his Contact Check in T-38s. All was going well until he pitched out for a normal overhead and landing. Midway through the pitchout, the gear came down – around 260 knots or so!
“What the Hell?” exclaimed the check pilot as he took the jet and raised the gear back up. Everything looked normal upon Gear retraction, so the IP called for a Full Stop landing. After all, the Gear had been oversped.
During the debrief, the check pilot asked if the student had an explanation for the gear coming down in the Pitchout.
“Well, Sir,” the student began, “it must have been a failure of the 240-knot switch that holds the gear up.” This one then took a bit more to sort out.
“What do you mean by that?” asked the check pilot.
“Well, Sir,” the student continued, “when I’m flying with my normal IP and I pitch out, I put my hand on the gear lever and at 240 knots it comes down.”
“Okay,” the check pilot thought to himself, “now we’re getting somewhere.”
He then looked up the kid’s usual IP and explained what had happened during the check ride.
“Oh crap,” the IP responded. “This kid had a tendency not to check his airspeed before lowering the gear. So, I would guard the Gear Handle, and once the airspeed dropped below 240 knots, I would take my hand away, allowing the handle to come down.” Somewhere along the line, the kid must have summised this was magic! That the Gear Handle had a 240 knot sensor built in. Wrong!
The Check Pilot then had a “Come to Jesus” meeting with the IP, and the kid took another check ride!