Weight and Balance

VFRnav Support
1

Heyho,

Me again :joy:

During flight school I always accounted for the empty tank in the W&B (weight and balance) calculation.

Maybe one could also include this and a third point in the W&B?

The weight at takeoff is already in the table.

Let’s call it point T (for TO)

We also know how long the route is planned to be. With the specified consumption you can enter point L (for LDG).

And it’s also known what the total amount of fuel on board is. Setting that to 0 then gives point E (for Empty).

That way you have the takeoff mass, the planned landing mass and the mass if the tank is empty and can see that everything is OK.

Or is that too much? :thinking::joy:

2

Hello everyone,

I’ve learned that too:

Weight & Balance during takeoff and landing with reduced fuel quantity.

If we look at it very soberly, without all the bogeymen á la “if something happens then it’s on you” and “ohhh, the insurance will be pleased” or “grounded after a ramp check”: When does this really become relevant for us VFR pilots?

Typical charter and club aircraft with wing tanks (near the CG) have virtually no CG shift.

That leaves fuselage tanks as a “little problem”. But here you know after the third W&B calculation that when landing solo you should still have x litres left.

I think in 95% of cases this is (for us) more of an academic issue.

@KaBaPilot This is absolutely not meant as a judgement of your post or you as a person. Just my personal opinion on the topic :slight_smile:

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