REFLECTOR: 165 kt Gear Extension Speed

[Scott Derrick]

I have been flying a T210 lately and can't say enough about how 
versatile the 165 Kt gear extension speed is.  Once extended you can run 
up to Vne.  This 210 does not have any main gear doors, just nose gear 
doors. 

Yesterday I was flying in from Las Cruces, was day dreaming and suddenly 
realized I was 15 miles from the airport at 10,500 and needed to be down 
to 7,500 in  10-12 miles, and slowed down to 120 kts when reaching 
7,500.   Totally impossible in my V.   I let the gear down,  and without 
touching anything else was descending at 800ft a minute at 150 kts 
indicated.  I pulled 2 inches of MAP every 2 minutes, and made a 
straight in with no problems, no stress...   All because I could extend 
the gear at such a high speed.

My V should cruise much faster once I'm back in the air and I'm 
concerned about being able to slow down or descend rapidly if required, 
and not abuse the engine by having to pull the throttle from 75% to 
idle.  The only option in a Velocity cruising above 120 kts..  Well you 
can extend both rudders but thats not nearly enough.

I have considered modifying the speed brake, but not sure what would be 
needed to insure it wouldn't depart the airframe at 165 kts if extended, 
much less 200 Kts.. 

So I'm now considering emulating the T210.

First by removing most of the main doors:
     Leave the portion that covers the brake unit attached but beef it up.
     Leave the short portion that seals off the fuselage when the gear 
is up, and beef that piece up too.
     Glass the brake line onto the gear leg, or add a fiberglass channel 
for it to sit in(not carve out but add a 'U' channel).
   
Then beef up the nose gear doors and hinge points. 
      A couple carbon fiber layers on the inside of the doors
      Reinforce the hinges and fuselage pivot points with carbon fiber
    
I wonder if the nose gear extension mechanism(rods, sliders, hyd ram, 
etc) would be up to a 165 kt extension?   Somebody had mentioned they 
were testing a simplified nose gear door mechanism that used the nose 
strut to extend the doors, is this working?

I remember reading a post from Scott Baker that the gear extended speed, 
sans doors, was Vne, like the T210.  Is this correct?

I also remember reading that a couple of folks have tested their planes 
with and without main doors with no noticable speed loss.  Correct?

Sound sensible?  I really think with the high cruise speeds of the 
Velocity, being able to extend the gear at around 165 kts, would really 
enhance its capability and safety.

Scott