King Air 200/B200 Landing Gear, Brakes and Steering Diagnostics
Trace the gear drive, identify the physical lock and compare the actual hydraulic, electrical or mechanical response. Learn why a passing lamp, switch or pressure test can leave the original fault unresolved. A 47-page handbook and clickable mechanical/hydraulic gear, brake and steering schematics connect ten lesson decisions, ten paired cases and three independent five-field jobs. Includes a separate 40-question final at 80%.
Use serial and conversion records to choose mechanical or hydraulic gear tasks. Follow normal and alternate actuation, displaced-fluid return, physical downlocks and the control function that stops movement.
Interpret measured gear and pressure records
Compare pressure-switch opening and reset differential with their stated criteria. Keep switch continuity separate from hydraulic retention and accumulator charge. Use the specified loaded-chain, shock-strut, shaft and shimmy-damper measurement conditions.
Follow brake pressure and nose-steering relationships
Distinguish early shuttle and later series brake plumbing, released-control bleeding and parking hold. Trace rudder-pedal steering through spring compliance and the centering relationship with the retracted nose gear.
Build a complete diagnostic record
Complete ten lesson decisions, ten paired fault cases and three five-field independent jobs using supplied measurements. A separate 40-question final requires 80% (32 correct); course completion does not confer maintenance release authority.
Learning outcomes
Choose the mechanical or hydraulic gear task using actual serial and conversion records.
Trace normal and alternate actuation, displaced-fluid return, physical downlocks and control stopping.
Calculate pressure-switch reset differential and distinguish it from hydraulic retention and accumulator charge.
Evaluate loaded chain wear, shock-strut/shaft measurements and the specified shimmy-damper contact point.
Explain independent brake pressure, early shuttle/later series plumbing, proper released-control bleeding and parking hold.
Connect rudder-pedal linkage, steering spring compliance and automatic centering with the retracted gear.
Aircraft and course applicability
Systems and maintenance-record training for the named King Air 200/B200 branches in Maintenance Manual 101-590010-19 Chapter 32, supplied effective-page list November 1, 2024. Aircraft serial, mechanical or hydraulic gear installation, conversion records and installed brake/steering configuration select the task. The supplied study edition does not establish current aircraft applicability; physical aircraft work requires current applicable controlled instructions, the installed equipment and qualified personnel.
WWAOG provides independent training. Online completion records knowledge and simulation achievement; it does not replace observed practical qualification, employer authorization or applicable licensing. Use current aircraft-effective maintenance instructions for physical work.
Before you enroll
Is this course suitable for my aircraft or role?
Systems and maintenance-record training for the named King Air 200/B200 branches in Maintenance Manual 101-590010-19 Chapter 32, supplied effective-page list November 1, 2024. Aircraft serial, mechanical or hydraulic gear installation, conversion records and installed brake/steering configuration select the task. The supplied study edition does not establish current aircraft applicability; physical aircraft work requires current applicable controlled instructions, the installed equipment and qualified personnel. If you are choosing training for a different installation or a team, email info@wwaog.com with your aircraft configuration, learner experience and training goals.
Where do I find the price and sign up?
Open the KA200-032 enrollment page for the current price, course contents and signup options. Enrollment takes place in WWAOG Academy, where learners access their assigned content.
Can WWAOG train our team at our location?
Yes. Tailored on-site training is available by separate arrangement. Describe your aircraft, location, team size and learning objectives so WWAOG can propose an appropriate scope.
KA200-032 · Start with the real cockpit
Find the gear controls, then follow what moves and locks
Start with the landing-gear handle and the nearby position-indication area in a real cockpit. Then follow the installed drive system to the physical locks. Braking and nose-wheel steering use different mechanisms, even though all three functions concern the landing gear.
Find the highlighted area in the full cockpit, then inspect the enlarged controls below.
Beech Super King Air B200GTI cockpit by James from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0. Aircraft registration removed for privacy; WWAOG labels and enlarged viewport. Photograph and labeled photographic view: CC BY-SA 2.0. Original WWAOG functional diagrams and assessment text are separate.
Find it in the photograph, then read its action, purpose and connection to the rest of the system. You can also choose a named item in the list. Keyboard users can use Tab and Enter or Space.
Mechanical and hydraulic normal landing-gear drive
Alternative mechanical and hydraulic normal-extension relationships. Mechanical drive goes from motor and gearbox through main torque shafts and nose Duplex chain to screw-jack actuators and physical downlocks. Hydraulic drive uses a power pack, normal extend plumbing and gear actuators; displaced fluid returns to the power pack. Electrical commands are distinct from those power and motion paths. Select the diagram to inspect it full size.
A normal down-and-locked indication
Original normal training illustration: each locked gear condition is associated with its own position-switch circuit and corresponding green down-position indicator. These are functional relationships, not a lamp reading from the photograph. Select the diagram to inspect it full size.
Braking and steering are separate relationships
One wheel-brake circuit has toe-pedal force, master-cylinder pressure, open parking valve and wheel-brake pistons. Separate mechanical nose steering connects the rudder-pedal torque arm, aft link and idler, forward link and spring mechanism to the nose-gear yoke. Left and right wheel-brake outputs are not joined. Select the diagram to inspect it full size.
Two alternative drive systems, one need to verify the locks
Original functional diagrams. Orange dashed arrows show an electrical control relationship; solid arrows show the named mechanical-motion, hydraulic-pressure or fluid-return relationship. They are not wire routes, installed tube-tape colors or an aircraft operating procedure. The two columns are alternative installed architectures, not two systems operating together.
1
Select the installed actuation branch
The aircraft serial and modification record identify the gear system. Mechanical gear uses a motor, gearbox, shafts, chain and screw-jack actuators. Hydraulic gear uses a motor-driven power pack and hydraulic actuators. Kit 101-8018 is one conversion boundary covered in the original course. The cockpit handle alone does not select the maintenance task.
2
Mechanical gear transmits torque
An electric motor turns the gearbox. Torque shafts drive the main-gear screw-jack actuators; a Duplex chain drives the nose-gear actuator. At full extension, main-gear hooks engage their lock plates and the nose drag brace goes overcenter, held by its actuator. The screw-jacks retain the retracted gear; there is no hydraulic uplock-pressure requirement in this branch.
3
Hydraulic gear needs pressure and a return path
The electric motor-driven pump and selector in the power pack supply the normal extend plumbing. The gear actuators move as pressure reaches their extend sides. Fluid displaced from their retract sides returns to the power pack. Fully extended main gears have mechanical locks; the nose actuator has an internal lock and the nose drag brace is slightly overcenter. Hydraulic pressure holds this installation retracted.
4
Separate normal movement, physical locks and indication
A handle command starts the selected chain; it does not prove travel or lock engagement. In a normal completed extension, all three gears reach their physical down-and-locked condition and their corresponding indication circuits report it. A lamp check proves an indication function under its stated setup, not a full physical rigging inspection.
5
Wheel brakes create their own pressure
Toe-pedal movement drives master-cylinder pistons. The installed pedal plumbing sends pressure through the parking valves to the main-wheel brake pistons, which clamp the linings and discs. Early shuttle-valve plumbing and later series master cylinders are separate branches. The brake reservoir in the nose baggage compartment is separate from the landing-gear hydraulic power pack. Closing the parking valves holds previously applied brake pressure; it does not create that pressure.
6
Nose-wheel steering is a mechanical linkage
Rudder-pedal movement acts through the pedal torque arm, aft link tube, idler arm/shaft and forward link to the nose-gear yoke. The spring mechanism cushions shock loads in the linkage. When retracted, the nose wheel is automatically centered and the direct steering linkage becomes inoperative. The separate shimmy damper is not the pedal steering mechanism.
Expected normal response: Prepared normal-extension study condition: the selected actuation system has finished moving the gear, all three gears are physically down and locked, the corresponding indication circuits are serviceable and there is no other active warning condition. The three green down indicators are on and the red handle in-transit light is out. This is an explained training condition, not a reading taken from the cockpit photograph or a stand-alone gear-cycling procedure.
Handle down is a command; gear down is a separate result
Think it through: In a supplied training record the handle is at DN, but one gear has not reached its downlock. What has the handle position established?
Explanation: Only the selected down command. Follow the installed drive path to that gear, then reconcile its actual lock condition and position-switch indication. Moving or selecting a control is not proof that the requested movement finished.
Read a green indication without confusing it with a physical inspection
Think it through: A press-to-test check illuminates an individual green indicator. Which part of the comparison is still separate?
Explanation: The actual gear position and physical lock condition. A bulb or indication-circuit check does not by itself establish that a hook has engaged, a brace is overcenter or the installed rigging is correct.
A gear indication is not a brake-pressure reading
Think it through: The supplied record shows all three green gear-down indicators. Does that record establish that wheel-brake pressure has been generated and retained?
Explanation: No. The toe pedals, master-cylinder plumbing, parking valves and wheel-brake assemblies form a separate circuit. Reconcile the brake observations under the named brake task instead of treating a gear-down lamp as brake evidence.
This unpowered King Air B200GTI cockpit is a location example. The small lamp legends and on/off states are not readable enough to interpret. Check aircraft serial and modification records to choose mechanical or hydraulic gear and the installed brake arrangement. Round instruments or electronic displays do not identify those branches.
This guided photo activity explains the visible equipment. Selecting a label does not operate an aircraft control or record course completion. Continue with the system diagram and supplied fault record to practice troubleshooting.
Free course sample · KA200-032
Learn the relationship. Test your reasoning.
Try a short teaching exercise from the subject of King Air 200/B200 Landing Gear, Brakes and Steering Diagnostics. No account needed.
About 2 minutes
01 · Understand
The gear-up pressure switch controls the normal pump at its pressure thresholds. Internal power-pack valves, actuator seals and connected lines govern whether the hydraulic system retains pressure. A switch continuity check and a retention/leak check test different functions.
Separate pressure-switch continuity from hydraulic retention
Gear-up pressure-switch opening and reset→
Separate hydraulic pressure-retention record→
Isolate power-pack valves, actuators and connected lines
02 · Read the supplied record
Fictional hydraulic B200 fixture: the gear-up switch opens at 2770 psi and recloses at 2420 psi. Supplied opening band: 2720–2830 psi. Supplied reset drop: 300–400 psi below actual opening. A separate connected gear-up test shows pressure decay, with no leak branch isolated yet.
Original public teaching example based on the course’s published scope. Supplied records and values are training data. Aircraft maintenance uses current applicable instructions; this sample does not record course completion.
Our aircraft systems courses use manufacturer technical manuals to support pilots and maintenance personnel working in FAA- and EASA-regulated aviation. Training combines detailed system explanations, knowledge checks and interactive exercises for initial familiarization and recurrent study.
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