BE-76 Squat Switch Question

[Fearless Tower]

Currently studying up for my Commercial and seem to have found a point of confusion WRT the landing gear on the Duchess.

The POH clearly states that the inadvertant gear retraction safety feature is a pressure switch within the pitot system that de-activates the hydraulic pump whenever pitot impact pressure is less than 59 kts.

Now, every Duchess that I have seen has squat switches, but I cannot find any reference to those squat switches in the POH.

Can anyone shed any light on this? Do the squat switches on the Duchess work the same way they do on other retracts, or do they have a different function?

I did find an interesting Caution note in the Handling Service and Maintenance section that states you should pull the landing gear CB and open the emergency extension valve when jacking the plane up. Seems those precautions would apply if the squat-switch worked the way I suspect it does, but doesn't make a whole lot of sense if the safety device is pitot impact pressure.

 

[SLUF4]

No squat switch..it's just as stated in the POH. Once you hit 59 knots the gear is active, which is bad because rotation speed was 71 or so if I remember correctly. Make sure you triple check that gear handle is down before you start the roll or you could find yourself sliding down the runway when you reach 59 knots.

 

[Mr Wu]

It's been a while but I think the squat switch has something to do with the janitrol heater.