"check gear down"

Aztec Driver

Aztec Driver

Line Up and Wait
Joined
Mar 7, 2005
Messages
982
Location
Elizabethtown, PA
Display Name
Display name:
Bryon
I have been taking passengers to a joint military/civilian use airport for the last several weeks. One thing I noticed was that the tower would constantly remark to each of the military crews "check gear down" while on their final approach. It was usually followed by a response of "gear coming down" or "holding on gear." I had assumed this was some sort of military protocol or procedure, but then the last time I was on approach they issued me the same. I was reaching for the gear anyway, so it was no big deal, but it got me wondering if this was just military and he is just rattling it off, or whether they are trying to make sure the gear are down at a certain area for everyone to prevent problems.

On another note, it sure was fun watching the F 16's doing manuevers at Toledo the other day. Taking off, climbing rapidly, turning at around 75-80 degree banks. Loud as all get out, but fun to watch.

I could really get used to this charter life. If only it paid the bills.:D
 
I'm pretty sure the tower at military field tells everyone "check gear down". My instructor told me about getting "check gear down" when flying his cherokee 140 into a military/civilian use field and his replying "roger, gear down and welded in position"
 
We have an ex-military controller who does that at El Monte. The pilot responses are ..uh..interesting.

Mostly it's"roger", "down and locked" or "3 green" but a few seem offended I've even heard a "why do you care".
 
I've flown in to St Joseph, it's a civilian/ANG airport. I've heard the "check gear down" there, too.

I've also heard responses like "down and welded".
 
I've gotten that at a few times. It's not a bad idea.
 
sba55 said:
It's military SOP. I don't know why the FAA doesn't do the same.
Click to expand...
The military can decide it's own SOP. The FAA is subject to Public liability, so that if the Tower controller forgot to get the gear down check and the civilian pilot lands gear up, they can sue the FAA for failing to warn and therefore obviously causing the accident.
 
One also hears military aircraft checking in with "<facility>, <callsign>, Visual one five, Gear Down"
 
Part of me hates that pilots might abdicate their responsibility to fly the airplane (what is next, flap calls?)......however it is easy enough to make the call and it could save someone's day, so why not.
 
Only a true friend will tell you when you have something on your chin/ bat-in-the-cave/ fly down/ breath stinks/ etc. I, for one, am thankful for reminders such as that. Of course, in today's society, if they start doing it as policy, then they'll be blamed when they don't. . .
 
...come to think of it, I recall listening to the radio at Love Field, and hearing this call:

"Love Tower, Air Force One, visual one-three right, gear down."

Hey, good enough for them, I guess not such a bad idea?
 
From JO7110.65T:
2-1-12. MILITARY PROCEDURES
Military procedures in the form of additions,
modifications, and exceptions to the basic FAA
procedure are prescribed herein when a common
procedure has not been attained or to fulfill a specific
requirement. They shall be applied by:

a. ATC facilities operated by that military service.

EXAMPLE-
1. An Air Force facility providing service for an Air Force
base would apply USAF procedures to all traffic regardless
of class.
2. A Navy facility providing service for a Naval Air Station
would apply USN procedures to all traffic regardless of
class.

b. ATC facilities, regardless of their parent
organization (FAA, USAF, USN, USA), supporting
a designated military airport exclusively. This
designation determines which military procedures
are to be applied.

EXAMPLE-
1. An FAA facility supports a USAF base exclusively;
USAF procedures are applied to all traffic at that base.

2. An FAA facility provides approach control service for a
Naval Air Station as well as supporting a civil airport;
basic FAA procedures are applied at both locations by the
FAA facility.

3. A USAF facility supports a USAF base and provides
approach control service to a satellite civilian airport;
USAF procedures are applied at both locations by the
USAF facility.

REFERENCEFAAO
JO 7110.65, Para 1-2-5, Annotations.

c. Other ATC facilities when specified in a letter of
agreement.

EXAMPLE
USAF unit is using a civil airport supported by an FAA
facility- USAF procedures will be applied as specified in
a letter of agreement between the unit and the FAA facility
to the aircraft of the USAF unit. Basic FAA procedures will
be applied to all other aircraft.
Click to expand...
2-1-24. WHEELS DOWN CHECK
USA/USAF/USN

Remind aircraft to check wheels down on each
approach unless the pilot has previously reported
wheels down for that approach.

NOTE
The intent is solely to remind the pilot to lower the wheels,
not to place responsibility on the controller.

a. Tower shall issue the wheels down check at an
appropriate place in the pattern.

PHRASEOLOGY
CHECK WHEELS DOWN.

b. Approach/arrival control, GCA shall issue the
wheels down check as follows:

1. To aircraft conducting ASR, PAR, or radar
monitored approaches, before the aircraft starts
descent on final approach.

2. To aircraft conducting instrument approaches
and remaining on the radar facility's frequency,
before the aircraft passes the outer marker/final
approach fix.

PHRASEOLOGY
WHEELS SHOULD BE DOWN.
Click to expand...
 
As much as we think pilots should be able to handle the responsibility of putting the gear down, the C-17 gear-up at Bagram happened after the controller failed to follow SOP and issue the wheels down check.
 
The DOD funds aircraft with our public tax dollars.

Please do "Check gear down", and respect my multi-million $$$ assets.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
Part of me hates that pilots might abdicate their responsibility to fly the airplane (what is next, flap calls?)......
Click to expand...

Actually, when we are at home and doing no-flap practice patterns we are supposed to call "Gear down, low approach, no-flap". There's a pilot that sits in the tower (called a SOF - Supervisor Of Flying) and he checks configs with binocs before each jet lands. A bit of a bigger deal at training bases, but something that happens at all the bases that I've ever been stationed.
 
Last edited:
It happens anywhere with military controllers.

I was rather amused that I got a "check gear down" at Ellington Field in a straight-leg 182, but I replied "down and welded".

As for the "why doesn't the FAA do this," I think it would only help in the short term. Eventually everybody would get used to it and they'd automatically reply that the gear was down even if it wasn't. Heck, we've all seen the YouTube video of the pilot that landed the 182RG with the gear horn blaring the whole way around the pattern, right?
 
The only time I ever got "gear down and locked?" was at KAPN on my long solo cross country as a student pilot. (They also have arresting cables there, which made me a little nervous.) Back then I didn't know enough to say "down and welded" so I said locked and the controller chuckled. It was a bit embarrassing. My instructor clued me in when I debriefed him. I also expected it at KCMH last year but apparently that is not a joint civilian/military field though there is military activity there.
 
I appreciated getting this call once on a night approach into BWI in my retract. I was on a 2 mile final and had missed turning on my landing light in my checklist when the tower called and said "No landing light observed, check gear down, cleared to land 15L." I had the gear down because that's the standard way to slow down and get down in that airplane but I thought that was a nice service to have offered the reminder given that I'd obviously overlooked something else...
 
I seem to recall that NAS (now MCAS) Miramar had a manned wheel watch out on the approach end of the runway to verify gear down for all landing aircraft... now THAT'S good duty! ;)
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
Part of me hates that pilots might abdicate their responsibility to fly the airplane (what is next, flap calls?)......however it is easy enough to make the call and it could save someone's day, so why not.
Click to expand...

NetNinja said:
The DOD funds aircraft with our public tax dollars.

Please do "Check gear down", and respect my multi-million $$$ assets.
Click to expand...


Agreed and Agreed. Don't know why the heck someone would be insulted by that procedure they can ask me anytime.
 
If us civilians started getting used to a "check gear down" call, would we start seeing an increase of gear-up arrivals at uncontrolled fields?
 
azure said:
I also expected it at KCMH last year but apparently that is not a joint civilian/military field though there is military activity there.
Click to expand...

We have an Air National Guard wing based at MSN (gotta love watching the F-16's), but I don't think I've ever heard "check gear down" here. What I usually hear is "arresting gear shows up."
 
I've gotten the check-gear reminder every time I landed at a Canadian field, too. Seems like a no-big-deal thing- I'd be really REALLY grateful if I'd actually forgotten to lower it.
 
(what is next, flap calls?)......
Click to expand...
There's a pilot that sits in the tower and he checks configs with binocs before each jet lands.
Click to expand...

Yikes. Hopefully there would be some limit to the otherwise good idea of the 'Check Gear Down' calls. Otherwise can we expect, in the year 2030 perhaps, atc to function like this:

"N123, cleared to land check gear down...and full flaps now please. N456 make your base turn, slow to flap speed then select half flaps, ah, don't forget the carb heat. N789 extend your downwind, I'll call your base - I see you are only 10kts above stall please increase rpm by 200 now. Sou'west 344, gear up, flaps-3 for your climb out, and contact departure 121.1, so-long. N963 cleared takeoff rwy 12, full power and track the centerline please, do not rotate til Vr, monitor engine parameters during the roll."
 
azure said:
The only time I ever got "gear down and locked?" was at KAPN on my long solo cross country as a student pilot. (They also have arresting cables there, which made me a little nervous.) Back then I didn't know enough to say "down and welded" so I said locked and the controller chuckled. It was a bit embarrassing. My instructor clued me in when I debriefed him. I also expected it at KCMH last year but apparently that is not a joint civilian/military field though there is military activity there.
Click to expand...
I usually respond with "Affirmative"
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
Yikes. Hopefully there would be some limit to the otherwise good idea of the 'Check Gear Down' calls. Otherwise can we expect, in the year 2030 perhaps, atc to function like this:

"N123, cleared to land check gear down...and full flaps now please. N456 make your base turn, slow to flap speed then select half flaps, ah, don't forget the carb heat. N789 extend your downwind, I'll call your base - I see you are only 10kts above stall please increase rpm by 200 now. Sou'west 344, gear up, flaps-3 for your climb out, and contact departure 121.1, so-long. N963 cleared takeoff rwy 12, full power and track the centerline please, do not rotate til Vr, monitor engine parameters during the roll."
Click to expand...
Now thass what I'm tawkin bout. Wouldn't life be simple if our controllers would talk us thru all the time like that? :tongue:

Actually, that's a pretty good example of what the general public, and some new students, think that ATC does...

...and, actually, by 2030ish, the atc computer will be flying the aircraft like that, sort of.
 
I was only asked once, that was at LGB when I was coming in on a single engine, I responded "Gear is green but thanks for thinking of me."
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
Yikes. Hopefully there would be some limit to the otherwise good idea of the 'Check Gear Down' calls. Otherwise can we expect, in the year 2030 perhaps, atc to function like this:

"N123, cleared to land check gear down...and full flaps now please. N456 make your base turn, slow to flap speed then select half flaps, ah, don't forget the carb heat. N789 extend your downwind, I'll call your base - I see you are only 10kts above stall please increase rpm by 200 now. Sou'west 344, gear up, flaps-3 for your climb out, and contact departure 121.1, so-long. N963 cleared takeoff rwy 12, full power and track the centerline please, do not rotate til Vr, monitor engine parameters during the roll."
Click to expand...

It's just big blue's way of CYA with $200M jets.

That's not the real reason that the SOF is in the tower - he's there to help with emergencies, pilot/ATC interaction as well as keeping an eye on divert and home field weather.

But make no mistake, more agencies are second guessing pilot actions every day. :rolleyes2: :incazzato:
 
I am against anything that takes away flying from pilots.
And I really have to wonder how long it would be til someone gear upped an airplane, soon after being given the "Check Gear Down" call.
 
The only place I've ever heard it is Quonset (OQU) which has a good sized national guard contingent, I think. I was sitting in my home tower yesterday morning, though, and found out that the controllers there make a habit of checking each arrival with binoculars for gear. Nice of them.
 
jhausch said:
Only a true friend will tell you when you have something on your chin/ bat-in-the-cave/ fly down/ breath stinks/ etc. I, for one, am thankful for reminders such as that. Of course, in today's society, if they start doing it as policy, then they'll be blamed when they don't. . .
Click to expand...

OK, I've gotta ask. I get all of these except "bat in the cave"? :dunno:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top