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There is a difference in landing gear extended speed, but it has nothing to do with regulations, it is an actual structural difference. Earlier years had lower landing gear extended speeds because that saved weight for the extra structure. Starting in 1973, the basic airframe was the same for pressurized and unpressurized models, and the pressurized model needed a way to get the airplane down relatively fast in case of a cabin decompression. Cessna's solution was to make the maximum gear extended speed essentially the same as Vne (the red line, or never exceed speed). So on a '73 and later airplane, you have to slow down below 160 mph to extend (or retract) the gear, but once the gear is extended, you can push the nose over to red line (in smooth air) without exceeding design limitations (thereby getting a fast descent without excess speed buildup). You can't do this on the earlier airplanes.
Hope this helps.
Kevin
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