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Jim Andrews found why my nose gear failed to extend after a flight and the POH should probably be more specific on preflight inspection. The starboard nose gear door was binding enough to cause the actuator to blow its fuse. Just checking that the doors are down and locked is not enough. One needs to release the door latch and make sure the door moves freely enough to not overload the actuator.

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This process of lifting the springer forks on either side of the wheel well to ensure free movement of the doors was taught to me by Sean Stamps at Icon on day one. I never noticed the POH did not mention that. He told me it was a common cause of a blown fuse. It forces you to get on your back in the dirt every time you pre-flight but it brings peace of mind to see the doors move properly.

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I also saw a video on IG today showing someone fueling an Icon A5 without the ground cable installed. We may want to create a nice Video of all the critical dos and don'ts prior to flight. For example, since it takes 30 min. to an hour for water to settle in the fuel, It's much better to refuel after you land so that every pre-flight has settled fuel for the syringe.

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This process of lifting the springer forks on either side of the wheel well to ensure free movement of the doors was taught to me by Sean Stamps at Icon on day one.

I, too, was taught this day one during transition training in Vacaville. Without my laminated pre-flight check list book handy to see what's in there, I don't remember how much detail that has on this topic, if any.

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Sean Stamps taught me this very important procedure as well -- he was very thorough and practical on preflight checklist. Every day that we trained, he was consistent and thorough. It's now part of my mental and physical checklist.

Also -- every time I ramp the Icon, I check the nosegear door again and the rear wheel compartments for stowing in case seaweed or other debris gets lodged.

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All great information. Thanks for posting. I trained in Tampa 5 years ago and was never taught that check for the gear doors.

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Does anyone have a video of the nose gear door check..want to be sure I have the procedure correct

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I have not seen one. It's in a dark, small area. Here is a diagram of what to rotate and how. Perform on BOTH forks before every flight. There should be near 0 resistance and the only sound should be slight clicks due to assembly slack in the pivots and the gentle creak of the springs.

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Does anyone have a video of the nose gear door check..want to be sure I have the procedure correct

Joe, in a simple description, you have to manually manipulate the over center links on the door hinge lockout to be sure that when the wheel assembly retracts, it will be able to trip those, which allows the doors to close freely. I was told a little stickiness is okay, but not substantial resistance. Visualize the reason it's being checked and the consequence if there is an issue. It is to prevent what Charles described, where that linkage is either fully locked out and won't move at all, or is too difficult to move, and during the gear retraction the plane will blow a fuse (it's weird to me not to say pop the breaker!) as it tries to force it to close against the lockout arms. The gear doors close by being pushed up with wheel contact against them, they do not have any powered closure options, so the gear pushes them open when lowered, and pushes against them inside to "pull" them closed as the wheel gets all the way into the wheel well.

Anyone that feels they can describe that better is more than welcome to improve that description!

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I can identify with that issue. I've found it necessary to use WD-40 periodically on the nose gear door hinges and latching mechanisms. I routinely check the action of both gear doors now every 3rd or 4th flight. It's a pain, I know! Gotta lie on my back under the nose gear and work each gear door, and when I find one starting to stick just a bit, back down on my back with the WD-40. Actually planning to pull the latching mechanisms out, clean them up and replace with new springs (both corroded). Helpful comments welcomed.

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Thanks so much… bringing WD 40 to hangar tomorrow.

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I would recommend something other than the "standard" WD-40, unless you have corrosion/rust. That is actually a penetrating oil to dissolve corrosion/rust, rather than a lubricating oil to prevent it and reduce wear as metal parts contact each other. I'd get something more like maybe the silicon spray or chain oil spray if you stick with the WD-40 brand.

Boeshield is what I would recommend ("T9" spray) which is both corrosion protection and a waterproof lubricant, or ACF-50. If you do have corrosion/rust, then regular WD-40 or the regular Blaster spray first, and later something that is a lasting lubricant. If you use regular WD-40 I suspect you will find it needs recoating much more frequently because it in fact doesn't coat and lubricate the same way.

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Thanks, agreed and will do

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I just had this issue and replaced the swivel pushrod ends for NLG doors, aka “lollipops” bc they were rusty and froze up after just a few exposures to salt water. Blew the fuse bc the doors would not retract properly. Sean also taught me to 1) trigger the doors for easy movement before flight, AND 2) RINSE everything after landing in salt water. However, when I flew to Bahamas there was no fresh water at the airport so I squirted the mechanisms with water bottle, but apparently not well enough. RUST grows quickly on those springs and parts. I flew a few more times after that but the first time I landed in the water again (a month later) I anchored for a couple of hours, and when I flew back to the airport the landing gear came down once but then froze and would not retract again. So I had to fly all the way home with the gear down until I could replace the pushrod/lollipop ends. I used corrosion Blaster on the springs and also a marine grease to protect the new parts. Now everything is like new, but salt water and rust will ruin things if you don’t rinse and take care. Glad it froze while gear was down and not up… Worth checking every time!

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I just had this issue and replaced the swivel pushrod ends for NLG doors, aka “lollipops” bc they were rusty and froze up after just a few exposures to salt water. Blew the fuse bc the doors would not retract properly.

Did you have everything professionally coated for salt water exposure beforehand or are you just trying to clean it up afterward? Typically the coating process is done in under a day and they say it's good for a year, but could last longer depending on use.

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These parts are not covered in that optional coating process for the cables etc… that is a different, thicker product and all that is still good at 220 hrs. I just picked up a light marine grease and a spray at West Marine to lubricate the pushrod ends and protect underwater. Will see what works best over time. Still have to rinse and maintain, but will prevent that level of corrosion from happening again.

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all that is still good at 220 hrs.

that's great, we moved our plane away from salt water within a year and thankfully never had to find out how long that would hold up (or I guess we never had to consider recoating).

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I was thinking about moving back to TX Hill Country. How do you like flying there? Trying to decide between the lakes there v. Bahamas here.

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The farther south and west you go the harder it is to find lakes, but other than the Medina reservoir having no real water for several years, most of them are pretty good (and a few are constant level lakes like LBJ, and are always full). One thing I like is that we seem to have more respectful (or intelligent?) jet skiers and boaters than I have experienced elsewhere, i.e. I don't have as much issue with them swarming around us and making it dangerous where we have to just leave. On a very small lake recently there was me and three jet skiers, and on their own every time I came in for a landing, they moved to the side of the lake to give me room and safety!

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Don't forget Tennessee! 600 plus miles of land-able lakes and rivers and still affordable 10-50 acre lots.

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Don't forget Tennessee! 600 plus miles of land-able lakes and rivers and still affordable 10-50 acre lots.

Except that it's 700 miles from the Texas Hill Country!