Gateway mower

I'm always looking for a versatile do-it-all mower and had a few questions I didn't see answered elsewhere. And I'm afraid I'd wait a long time before GD answered them on their forum, based on some questions I had there before.

1. The gateway isn't capable of mowing with just a 36" swath (wing up or off) is it?

2. Is the wing fixed in place when down or does it articulate ala flex-deck?

3. Is 17hp too weak on this size deck?

I can't believe I gave flex a little hard time here for his idea and now I could probably use one. My big problem with them is that I do NOT want to walk into a mower shop and say "here, cut this deck up and mount this thing on it....and make sure it cuts perfectly" Until he offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee and repairs my cut up mower deck for free if it doesn't work well I can't risk it.

 

I demoed one.Did'nt like it.Felt too unbalanced when behind it.Hard to adjust deck.3rd wheel mark in middle.What a flop!