NEWLY PURCHASED ACFT BEING FERRIED HAS GEAR MALFUNCTION. GEAR UP LNDG.

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THE ACFT; AN SMA A; WAS PURCHASED IN BLYTHEVILLE; AR. AS PART OF THE PURCHASE AGREEMENT; THE ACFT WAS GIVEN AN ANNUAL INSPECTION AND A STATIC SYS CHK TO IFR STANDARDS. THE PURPOSE OF THE FLT WAS TO BRING THE ACFT TO THE CHARLESTON; WV; AREA. THE ACFT WAS PICKED UP AT BLYTHEVILLE. SINCE HIS PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE IN SMA A WAS A NUMBER OF YRS AGO; THE PLT ELECTED TO HAVE A CHKOUT IN THE AIRPLANE BY A LCL INSTRUCTOR. THIS INCLUDED A COCKPIT CHKOUT; SLOW FLT; 360 DEG TURNS AND 5 TKOFS AND LNDGS. TOTAL TIME WAS GREATER; BUT THE INSTRUCTOR CHARGED FOR ONLY 1 HR. AFTER REFUELING AND CHK WITH FSS ON WX AND RELATED INFO; THE FLT WAS STARTED TO CHARLESTON WITH FUEL STOP AT BOWLING GREEN; KY. REFUELING AND FSS CHK WERE DONE AT BOWLING GREEN. ON THE SECOND LEG OF THE TRIP IT BECAME APPARENT THAT WHILE THE LNDG AT CHARLESTON (YEAGER) COULD BE MADE IN DAYLIGHT; ANY UNEXPECTED DELAY MIGHT RESULT IN AN AFTER DARK LNDG. BECAUSE OF LACK OF RECENT NIGHT FLYING EXPERIENCE AND LACK OF EXTENSIVE RECENT EXPERIENCE IN THE SMA A; THE PLT DECIDED TO DEV AND LAND AT HUNTINGTON; TRI-STATE ARPT. THE LNDG WAS UNEVENTFUL. THE ACFT WAS FUELED AGAIN AT TRI-STATE. TKOF FROM HUNTINGTON WAS MADE AT APPROX XX AM WITH DEST MASON COUNTY; WV; FOR ADDITIONAL LNDG PRACTICE. THE AMBER 'GEAR UP' LIGHT WENT OUT BUT THE GREEN 'GEAR DOWN' LIGHT DID NOT COME ON. THERE WAS AN APPARENT SLOWING OF THE ACFT AS EXPECTED. ON TOUCHING THE 'GEAR DOWN' LIGHT; THE GREEN LIGHT CAME ON MOMENTARILY. THE PLT REASONED THAT THE 'GEAR DOWN' LIGHT OR ONE OF THE GEAR SWITCHES HAD MOMENTARILY FAILED AND THAT THE GEAR WAS IN FACT DOWN. NO ATTEMPT WAS MADE TO LOWER THE GEAR BY THE EMER PROC. THE PLT ADDED FULL FLAPS AND PROCEEDED TO LAND. THE LNDG WAS MADE GEAR UP ON THE BELLY OF THE ACFT. A GND CHK OF THE GEAR SWITCH DISCLOSED IT TO BE IN THE 'DOWN' POS. AFTER THE GEAR UP LNDG; THE ARPT WAS CLOSED AND THE FAA SO NOTIFIED. WHEN THE ACFT WAS HOISTED THE PLT AND THE ARPT MGR; IN TURN ATTEMPTED TO LOWER THE GEAR USING THE EMER PROC BUT BOTH WERE UNSUCCESSFUL. THE ACFT WAS MOVED OFF THE RWY AND PLACED ON JACKS IN A SECURE PLACE. THE PLT MADE ANOTHER ATTEMPT TO LOWER THE WHEELS BUT WAS AGAIN UNSUCCESSFUL. (A LCL PLT WITH EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE LATER LOWERED THE WHEELS USING UNCONVENTIONAL METHODS INCLUDING KICKING THE RELEASE MECHANISM.) SUBSEQUENTLY THE ARPT MGR RPTED FINDING A PART FROM THE ACFT ON THE RWY SEVERAL HUNDREDS OF FT AHEAD OF WHERE THE SMA HAD COME TO REST. THE PART WAS IDENTED AS: BRACKET ASSEMBLY; NOSE WHEEL ALIGNMENT GUIDE; PART NUMBER FOR AN SMA A AIRPLANE. THE PART WAS BENT. THIS PART NORMALLY GUIDES THE NOSE WHEEL INTO A STRAIGHT FORE AND AFT POS AS IT IS RETRACTED INTO THE WHEEL WELL. WITHOUT THIS PART THE NOSE WHEEL IS ALLOWED TO RETRACT IN A RANDOM ALIGNMENT. APPARENTLY THE ALIGNMENT GUIDE SOMEHOW BECAME DETACHED FROM ITS NORMAL POS AND DROPPED TO THE RWY ON RETRACTION OF THE GEAR ON A PREVIOUS LNDG. THIS ALLOWED THE NOSE WHEEL TO RETRACT IN A POS THAT CAUSED IT TO JAM IN THE NOSE WHEEL WELL. HOW THE ALIGNMENT GUIDE; NORMALLY HELD IN POS BY 3 BOLTS; BECAME LOOSE IS UNKNOWN AT PRESENT. ALL PREVIOUS LNDGS MADE AT BOWLING GREEN; HUNTINGTON AND MASON COUNTY WERE SMOOTH WITH THE MAIN GEAR WHEELS CONTACTING THE RWY FIRST FOLLOWED BY GENTLE LOWERING OF THE NOSE WHEEL. NO STRUCTURAL DAMAGE WOULD BE EXPECTED FROM ANY OF THESE LNDGS. WITH THE DIFFICULTY ENCOUNTERED IN LOWERING THE GEAR WITH THE ACFT ON JACKS ON THE GND; IT IS REASONABLE TO ASSUME THAT NO AMOUNT OF EFFORT BY THE PLT IN THE AIR WHILE FLYING THE ACFT WOULD HAVE BEEN EFFECTIVE IN LOWERING THE GEAR.