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Down and Locked
I remember Brad asked Gmas about this, in the bahamas, and he suggested getting a 337, and having the gear down and locked, permanently. It takes quite a bit of weight off the aircraft, (you remove the hydraulics), and then would satisfy the insurance companies, I believe, that it is not a retractable aircraft. Insurance is an issue, just ask any retractable owner. Also, by not having to maintain the hydraulics, you will save money on annuals.
The bugaboo about the rear engine running hot, came as a result of people flying the 336's. The rear engine was cooled mostly by the rear fan. The rear fan causes some noise, and some vibration.
Unfortunately, because the LG is a little bit different, I don't think you can add the wheel pants from a 336, to a 337.
Either way, you will be happy having two engines spinning, in centerline thrust, instead of one. When I was looking at skymasters, I flew one up north from where we live. After take off, we went over a crash site. Some folks had landed at the airport I was visiting, then, 3 miles from the airport, had an engine failure. The plane was upside down, and they did not survive. It made me feel good to be in a twin, and I'll never fly in a single again.
I ESPECIALLY, I wouldn't want to be in a single, IFR, at night. It is comforting to my wife that we have, 2 vacuum pumps, 2 alternators, and they are on different engines. She explains to her family that the skymaster is built with redundancy and safety built in. Ours is a 69, with 2 engine driven hydraulic pumps. I have shut one of the engines completely down, and continued on, and landed. I have a friend who shut down an engine on his Seneca, and was not able to taxi with the engine shutdown.
The centerline thrust thing is real, and it works.
I am a low time pilot, who started flying only a couple of years ago, and the Skymaster is the first plane we have owned. We flew to the Bahamas last May, and it was a great comfort to us to have a second engine spinning away, on our trip.
Everytime I fly I am aware of the comfort factor that having a second engine provides, without the asymetrical thrust issues. I got my Multi in a BE-95 (180 hp / side), and losing an engine in that plane was a HUGE deal.
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