Does anyone know why the forward nose gear doors on the CRJ-700/900 remain open while the gear is down but the CRJ-100/200 forward nose gear doors retract after the nose gear is down?

CRJ-700 http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0859476/L/
CRJ-200 http://www.airliners.net/open.file/1198223/L/

having never flown the 700 or 900, I'm assuming it's to reduce the mechanical complexity of the thing. Two less hydraulic actuators to pay for, less lines to run, less complex system....

... ya gotta pinch every nickel ya got.

Then again, that's just a guess....

Cause it looks cool....

The 200 has a seperate hydraulic actuator for the nose doors, not sure why. Maybe to keep slush from getting sprayed up there and refreezing?

On the 700/900 the nose doors are mechanically linked to the nose gear, so they just follow the gear position. Obviously cheaper and simpler, but again not sure why they changed the design.

I was told that it was a safety issue. You have to flip a switch to open the nose doors on the 200 to do a preflight. If an f/o or mechanic has their head in the hole and someone closes the door, someone could get seriously hurt.

Also, if the nose gear and ADG pin are installed and the door is closed, the pins can be difficult to see.

Just some third hand info.

Take care,
Fish

The switch to open/close the nose door is outside the airplane, right next to the nose door. You'd have to blind to close it on someone, and deaf not to hear their screams.

The airlines I have worked at both required that you open the nose door during pre-flight to check for gear/ADG PINS (unless another crew is turning over the plane).

It could be a safety issue if the external switch is mis-positioned while the hydrualics are off...nothing will happen until a pilot switches on HYD 3 (from the cockpit), at which time the nose door will operate with no warning.