"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:KkEKf.789422$_o.284954@attbi_s71...

How can retractable gear *ever* be "a wash" with fixed gear? There's just
a lot more "stuff" in there to be maintained.


Elliott answered this pretty thoroughly in another post, in the same vein as
the earlier thread. So, obviously, the actual maintenance will be more on
swing-gear vs fixed--but, the "wash" in question refers to the balance saved
in gas (or, as may be the choice, the extra performance to be had). Sorry
if I was unclear.


Whoops -- forgot one more thing: Soft field capability. I know several
Comanche owners who won't fly into Amana's grass strip, which is an awful
shame. We fly in there -- and several other excellent grass strips -- all
the time.

I think the argument "probably" (keep in mind I'm the newb here) applies to
*all* retracts vs fixed of comparable construction. All things being equal,
fixed gear are (will always be) more stout than their retractable
counterparts, no? I assume it's this issue that those owners fear (whether
justified or not). As other posters have pointed out, there are plenty of
fixed-gear drivers who won't touch grass. I'm forced to admit that I'm one
of them--exactly zero of my rental agencies have permitted off-pavement
operations. Will I land on grass once I have my own wings? Maybe--if the
airplane I ultimately buy is suitable, if it's not a huge insurance issue,
and if I can find a suitably experienced instructor (CFI or otherwise) to
teach me the finer points... then, sure, if I've somewhere to go that's
grass, why not? The capability to do so is reasonably important--you make a
good point. I'll defer to other posters' opinions that the Comanche is
well-enough suited. As for how often I'll actually *do* so, that's an open
question....

Thanks!
--
Doug
"Where am I to go/Now that I've gone too far?" -- Golden Earring, "Twilight
Zone"
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