Hi everyone!I posted this message yesterday, but it is still not here, so I'll try once again.Though there was written here, that there were always a lot of thing to do when on CRZ, I still find a couple of minutes to watch the plane from outside: sky, clouds and the 737 - isn't it beautiful? So I switched the view in MSFS and noticed, that the picture wasn't that perfect.First of all, there were no main gear doors at all. The wheels were retracted, but could still be seen stowed in the fuselage when watching the plane from down. I have always thought those were the early days of the aviation when the gear was retracted that way (e.g. Junkers), without any doors, and that it quite unlikely to see such a construction an a brand new Boeing.Then I noticed, that two exterior light on both sides of the fuselage were still on, though I had switched the landing lights off after crossing 10000ft. Actually they seemed somehow ugly to me, as if they were an a wrong place. Should they really be there an on?So, what's this: livery bugs (I met these things both on the 737-900 Boeing Corporate and KLM liveries) or something I don't know about how a 737 shoud look?Thanx in advance!-- Michael A. Peregudov

Michael,> The wheels were retracted, but could still be seen stowed in the fuselage when watching the plane from down.That's just the way the 737 is... see this photo for example:http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0771144/M/See here for more information:http://www.b737.org.uk/landinggear.htm> Then I noticed, that two exterior light on both sides of the fuselage were still on, though I had switched the landing lights off after crossing 10000ft.What colour were they, and where were they located, exactly? Could be the nav lights or strobes...Cheers,Martin Boehme

>That's just the way the 737 is... see this photo for example:8-[ ] Holy Great Mother of God!.. >http://www.b737.org.uk/landinggear.htm"Notice that none of the 737 series have ever had full main gear doors. Instead the outer wall of the tyres meet with aerodynamic seals in the wheel well to make a smooth surface along the underside of the aircraft."Can't stop wondering...Thank you for the infos, now I kow a little more.But you know, I was really surprised: I was completely sure, that all modern jets are equipped with gear doors. Is the 737 the only one of that kind or are there more (Airbusses or something)?>> Then I noticed, that two exterior light on both sides of the>fuselage were still on, though I had switched the landing>lights off after crossing 10000ft.>What colour were they, and where were they located, exactly?They were white and located, if I'm not mistaken, between flight deck side windows and the passenger door.>Could be the nav lights or strobes...No, they were definitely no strobes for they weren't blinking. Nav lights? Hm, could be...I'll try to post a screenshot of them tomorrow.-- Michael A. Peregudov

> I was completely sure, that all modern jets are equipped with gear doors. Is the 737 the only one of that kind or are there more (Airbusses or something)?Well, to give the 737 credit, it does have partial gear doors... they just don't cover the wheels themselves. I guess the idea is that it makes the design simpler (and lighter!) without incurring too much additional drag.The Embraer family of regional jets are pretty much the same:http://www.airliners.net/open.file/1196788/M/http://www.airliners.net/open.file/1178590/M/http://www.airliners.net/open.file/1193107/M/http://www.airliners.net/open.file/1194420/M/There may be others... the Airbuses all have "proper" gear doors, but maybe some bizjets or regional jets do it the 737 way?> They were white and located, if I'm not mistaken, between flight deck side windows and the passenger door.Hm... the 737 shouldn't have lights there, as far as I know... that screenshot would definitely help.Cheers,Martin

Michael.What your seeing are the wing leading edge lights. Used to shine on the leading edge slats.

Pete,ahhh... thanks for "enlightening" both of us... ;-)Martin

Thanks, Pete, looks like being true. :-) It sounds similar to the description of the light equipment at 737.org.uk.But the wing lights should be off when not on the ground, right?Well, now that we're discussing the lights, I'd like to ask the following:it's written in the manual, that the landing lights (both fixed and retractable, well, there's anyway a single switch...) should be switched off after climbing above 10000 ft or switched on when descending below 10000 ft. Do they really have to be on at such altitudes? Or is this altitude restriction there only to correspond with the 250 kts structural speed limits of retractable lights? I mean, it's generally prohibited to fly faster than 250kts below 10000 ft.-- Michael A. Peregudov

Michael,> But the wing lights should be off when not on the ground, right?That's entirely up to you -- they can be controlled from the cockpit. ;-) I'm not entirely sure what the policy regarding use of the leading edge lights is -- I guess their primary purpose is to be able to inspect the leading edge for ice formation, but I've heard they should also be turned on at night (below 10,000 ft?) for better visibility.Regarding the landing lights, those should be on below 10,000 ft to improve the visibility of the aircraft -- both for other aircraft and to avoid birdstrikes.Cheers,Martin Boehme

The lights-on below 10,000 ft is absolutely good idea from my perspective, a GA pilot with +40yrs flying. You'd be surprised how much easier it is to see these guys in the daytime (at night they can be seen at 10-times the distance) and since most GA is below 10,000 this supports the logic. Also noticed in the past several years that most of them have lights that alternately brighten and dim to enhance the see-and-be-seen philosophy.