AEROPRAKT-22LS Pilot Operating Handbook
A22LS-XXX-POH-01
4 Weight and balance
4.1 General
This section contains information about weight and balance requirements for the safe
operation of the airplane. It is responsibility of the pilot in command to ensure before every
flight that weight and balance of the airplane remains within the specified limits. Failure to
do so may cause deterioration in airplane's flight performance and stability characteristics
and, as consequence, lead to unsafe operation.
4.2 Actual empty airplane weight and CG position
Every airplane may have configuration different from the basic standard depending upon
the equipment installed. After final assembly each airplane is weighed and its weight and
balance data (actual empty weight, CG position) as well as installed equipment list are
recorded for future use. If any airplane equipment is replaced or installed additionally this
may affect the weight and balance data therefore the airplane weighing must be repeated
to determine the new weight and balance data that must be recorded in this manual. It is
responsibility of the airplane owner to keep actual empty weight records and valid list of
installed equipment for his airplane.
The actual empty airplane weight may be determined by weighing the empty airplane with
wings and fuselage level using the appropriate scales placed under the nose and main
wheels.
Empty airplane CG position may be determined using the following formula:
X
AE
= (W
NW
·X
NW
+ W
MW
·X
MW
) / (W
NW
+ W
MW
),
where W
NW
– load (weight) on the nose wheel,
X
NW
= -… cm (… in) – position of the nose wheel,
W
MW
– total load (weight) on the main wheels,
X
MW
= … cm (… in) – position of the main wheels.
Computation must be performed in the same system of units: either kg-cm or lb-in.
4.3 Computation of the CG position before flight
Before every flight pilot in command must make sure that the airplane takeoff weight and
CG are within the specified safe limits. The airplane CG position may be determined using
the following formula:
X
CG
= (W
AE
·X
AE
+ W
pil
·X
pil
+ W
fuel
·X
fuel
+ W
bag
·X
bag
) / (W
AE
+ W
pil
+ W
fuel
+ W
bag
),
where W
AE
– actual empty weight of the airplane (see section 10.7),
X
AE
– CG position of the empty airplane (see section 10.7),
W
pil
– total weight of pilots,
X
pil
= 49 cm (19.3 in) – position of pilots' CG,
W
fuel
– total weight of fuel in the tanks,
X
fuel
= 65 cm (25.6 in) – position of fuel tank CG,
W
bag
– weight of the baggage in the baggage container,
X
bag
= 104 cm (41 in) – position of the baggage CG.
Computation must be performed in the same system of units: either kg-cm or lb-in.
Note: the airplane CG position must be between 266 mm (10.5 in) and 518 mm (20.4 in)
i.e. between 19% and 37% of the wing MAC (mean aerodynamic chord) see Fig. 23.