Weight and Balance
W & B tip: The airplane’s center of gravity is likely to change during flight as fuel is burned. To account for this, compute an additional weight and balance with pilot, passengers, bags,
and no fuel to ensure that the CG will remain within limits regardless of the fuel consumed.
The act of putting pencil to paper and calculating both the weight of the aircraft after it’s been fully loaded and the aircraft’s center of gravity is immensely important to ensure the flight proceeds safely. Most four-seat trainers are difficult to load beyond the maximum gross takeoff weight, and out of center of gravity, on a normal training flight. Once you begin taking passengers on longer flights, or fly different airplanes, the issue becomes more critical. Here are the necessary steps.
Ian J. Twombly
Ian J. Twombly is senior content producer for AOPA Media.
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