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I sold the Baron a few years ago, but I think the gear operating speed was at 167kts. indicated. After extending them, though, you could take it up to 200kts. Extending them always dropped the airspeed quickly, as you know. This allows you to push the nose down, keep the power settings the same, and lost altitude without an increase in cooling. They just act like speed brakes.
The thing about your approach would be the approach speeds. I used to fly into Centennial in Denver and PRC in Prescott, Arizona. At Centennial, there is a lot of traffic. In Prescott, they have Embry Riddle University, and much traffic there. So, I always planned to get the speed bled off to 100kts or so for safety reasons. But, I enjoyed announcing at about twenty miles out and over 200kts only to show up at the airport about two minutes later--blowing the tower away. Doing that makes them give you the earliest landing clearance. They'll make way for the speedy twin blazing into the airport by making the 150s, 172s and Duchesses extend or circle. I've never used the procedure of dipping below pattern altitude to then pull the nose up and bleed off some speed. Close to the ground and near the patter, things are happening fast at those speeds--which is why I'd always slow down for the flight school traffic. Landing at Phoenix Sky Harbor once, I was actually asked to reduce my groundspeed to 180kts, like you. Kind of makes you feel....big.
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DJSchaut
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DJSchaut
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