Definition
On a retractable-gear airplane, the up position is the state in which the landing gear is fully retracted into the wings, fuselage, or engine nacelles and locked in place by the gear-up locks. It is one of the two commanded positions of the landing gear (the other being the down position) and is normally indicated to the pilot by the gear position indicator lights and confirmed by the absence of a gear-warning condition.
Plain English
The landing gear is tucked up inside the airplane and locked there, ready for cruise flight.
Context Anchor
Used with retractable landing gear controls, gear position lights, and checklist items after takeoff or before landing.
Why Pilots Care
Reduces drag, improves climb performance, and protects the gear from damage during flight.
Intuition Check
Do not read “up position” as just a casual direction like higher or above. In landing gear use, it means the gear control is set to raise the gear, or the gear is confirmed raised, depending on the sentence.
Example Sentence 1
After a positive rate of climb, the pilot selected gear up and verified the up position by checking that all three green lights extinguished.
Example Sentence 2
The after-takeoff checklist requires verifying the landing gear is in the up position before accelerating to cruise speed.