RE: Patriot XL--Are Retracts worth it?
Think about this, Your flying around and everything is going fine and for whatever reason, your engine quits. Now lets say your a good pilot and don't get to bent out of shape over it. You instantly realize you are not going to make it back to the runway and will have to ditch somewhere.
Propjets have a high wing loading and don't glide very well and need a bit of speed on landing. You put that thing down anywhere but the runway with the gear down (retracts or not) and the chances of you ripping it all out and taking the bottom of the wing with it are very good.
Leaving the gear retracted will greatly reduce any damage to the plane, maybe just dirt or ripped monokote. Thats my main reason for using them, the second is struts look stupid.
Coomonly , most pilots think the gear is going to protect the fuselage from damage when landing out in north 40. Once in a while you may get away with it. but more often than not, the gear is about 20 feet behind the plane. Its a major fix.