[mshac]

I must admit - the "feathering gates" are a BAD idea!

Every other twin I've trained in and flown, you pull the prop levers all the way back, the props feather. Not so with the 337 - Cessna felt an additional memory item was required in this most critical time - "lift the prop control into the feathering gate".

When I first flew the plane, I didn't realize these "gates" existed, and had I tried to feather a prop in a true emergency, I would have failed because WHY DID CESSNA PUT THESE RETARDED GATES ON THE PROP LEVERS??? I guess they thought Skymaster drivers were so dumb, they may accidentally feather a prop. What other possible reason?

Rant over!

I love the Skymaster, but I won't pretend its perfect.

That said wslade2, how are you going about testing feathering? Prop has to be spinning to release the feathering locks. You can't just feather it with the engine shut off. I'm sure you know that, but a lot of pilots, especially those coming out of singles, don't truly understand how fully-feathering props work.