Today, EGKK-LIMF, A319 unfortunately, they got a shortcut to the ILS for runway 36 and had to go down at about -5000fpm, all the way from FL300+ to about 3000ft.
I spoke to the pilots afterwards and not only was everything hanging out (which I saw) but they also dropped the landing gear around FL300 (which I didn’t see). Beautifully flown.
It is quite novel to hang out the landing gear in potentially icing conditions. Are there any limitations on that? Nothing in the TB20 POH.
I do recall that FIKI certification require flaps & gears to go down/up in actual icing conditions (for retractable RG aircrafts, FG stay out all the time)
Maybe to go down, but what about ice buildup preventing a retraction, which is obviously possible and no cert can possibly prevent it, so it cannot be a FIKI requirement.
Today’s flight was fine ice-wise, BTW, at the Italian end.
Peter wrote:
all the way from FL300+ to about 3000ft
Probably not really on the ball during and before the approach. LIMC is notorious for shortcuts to 36R/L, and more miles can always be requested.
IIRC the better way on the 320 series is to stay clean and increase the speed (and ROD) to Mmo/Vmo, then to reduce approaching FL100.
This is no GA light stuff technique 
Decades ago I was right seat in a Twin Otter, landing in Cairo on a ferry flight. Bill was flying, I was doing the radio work. There was a long line up of airliners forming what I estimated to be a 40 mile long stream of straight in approaches. I was dismayed at the thought of having to fly to the end of that line to join. We were at 6000 feet, pretty close to the airport. About then, the tower controller called me, and said: “If you can be down and clear in less than 2 minutes, you have a landing clearance right now…”. I turned to Bill, and asked if we could accept; he smiled and said yes. As I accepted the clearance, I felt the airspeed slow, full flap extend, the nose go way down, and the power levers come back behind the Beta stop. Bill flew it beautifully (he was a retired DHC test pilot), the horizon sat somewhere around the sun visors most of the way down. We were down and clear in less than 2 minutes….
@Dan this was LIMF.
I have used the gear-down technique and frequently use Flap 1, but not sure I would do the gear down in icing conditions. It is OK if you will land for sure 
Actually this may be one reason why the hydraulics are so much more powerful than might appear to be needed – 1600psi on a TB20.
An aquaintance of mine is a former air berlin pilot (retired early due to medical issues with the eustachian tube). He told me he once had to slip an Airbus all the way down – is that not an option?
I had that kind of flight 6 months ago, Paris to Nice, and the pilot descends “ass over head” as we say here (cul par dessus tete), and were still 280kn at 2000ft 8 miles before touch down, all on speed brakes and landing gear. I did this kind of approach on the citation at Cannes, it’s pretty intense and require some knowledge to touch down at Vref without touching the gas, but the CJ1+ is a great plane that can really brake well for missile type appraoches.
This been said, I don’t think using the landing that high and that long as a speedbrake is a good thing. Apart from icing, it slows down the plane nicely but will suffer some wear of that. Even an emergency descent is not flown with gear down, but Dan can give more info on that (it’s not the case on b737).
Inkognito wrote:
He told me he once had to slip an Airbus all the way down – is that not an option?
The pax will not like it. On a freighter, though…
Using the gear that high up is not risk free. In the PA46 the fluid can get too cold and cause all kind of issues. I unce used the gear at FL250 and would not do it again.
