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I've owned two Skymasters, one with the gear-door-removal STC and one unmodified, with the gear doors. The difference in drag during retraction is significant. I understand that there is a trade-off between cost and performance, and that some may choose not get the mod (my first one had it, when I was a rookie pilot flying out of short runways, my current one does not, in part because I rarely fly out of short runways), but there is a difference in drag and it's quite noticeable. The rotation of the gear arms during retraction is there for both cases, but all you need to do is open the gear doors on the ground (just pump the emergency handle) and look at the enormous sail-like doors that open at the back of the airplane to recognize that removal of these doors would decrease drag significantly.
Ernie
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