If you do not intend to navigate far from the runway then flying with the landing gear down is realistic. If you have plans for a transformational journey, then you need speed and altitude, and the aircraft must be configured for cruise flight, and therefore the landing gear should be retracted to create a more streamline state. A deployed landing gear results in an immense drag on the flight characteristics of a plane, which is ideal for landing but not optimal for gaining altitude and extending range. The next time you are at (or near) an airport watch how quickly the pilots retract the landing gear upon take-off.

Is your organization committed to the itinerary it has stated? Or has your cause filed an ambitious flight plan but flys with the landing gear down, just in case? What would it take for your team to commit to their wayfinding abilities to reach bold destinations? How has drag cost your forward progress?