Routine takeoff procedure

[mshac]

As an old airline guy, "Positive rate, Gear up" is burned into my mind after having done it 1000's of times. I don't do it at my home strip though!

My private airport is 2785' with a 50' obstacle (tree line) and the end. My main concern upon committing to a take off is clearing that tree line.

As a result, I delay raising the gear until the aircraft is 50' AGL. The thought being that if I lose an engine, even prior to 50' AGL, I can still clear that 50' obstacle.

I don't have the POH in front of me, but the climb rate on a single engine DURING GEAR TRANSIT may be zero or even slightly negative for a couple of seconds when the rear gear doors are doing their air brake routine.