Retraction of the landing gear will only take place if the nosewheel is centered and all oleo struts are fully extended.

• A. AFCS pitch and roll are engaged
• B. The nosewheel is centered
• C. The radar caution light is extinguished
• D. The landing gear handle is in the DOWN position

Answer: (B)

The condition being tested is the interlock that governs when the landing gear can retract. For the MH-65E, retraction is allowed only when two things are true: the nosewheel is centered and all oleo struts are fully extended. Centering the nosewheel ensures proper alignment and clearance for the gear doors and retraction mechanism, so the system won’t attempt to retract if the nosewheel is off-center. The oleo struts being fully extended means the gear is in the correct, unloaded position to move, not compressed from a recent impact or weight on the gear.

Of the given options, the one that directly signals readiness to start retraction is that the nosewheel is centered. The other items don’t indicate the retraction readiness: AFCS status doesn’t control gear retraction, the radar caution light status is unrelated to the gear interlock, and having the gear handle in the DOWN position implies the opposite (gear down/deployed), not readiness to retract.