Over Sandy Hook NJ today.
BANG! (what the...)
Gear drops, pump light on, smell Hyd fluid, mains down and locked- no nose lock.
ISP 200 OVC 1 mile vis.

Flew OK but slowed down to 95 FAST. It was the fastest gear down I ever felt.

After evaluating the situation as far as I could, I chopped power and the nose locked down. OK, one less thing.
Flew 50 miles gear down and landed.

The down lock plug fitting blew (yes snapped as in broke) out of the cylinder. All the fluid pumped out. Good thing for pullable breakers on the pump.

Anyway, on the ground, all went well.
Life is full of surprises when you least expect it.

I looked at the part and saw that it must have been defective for 32 years. More detail later for those that have the early gear systems.

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