Empty Weight Empty weight is defined as the total weight of an aircraft including all fixed ballast, unusable fuel, undrainable oil, total quantity of engine coolant and total quantity of hydraulic fluid, and excluding crew, payload, usable fuel and drainable oil.
Everything Explained: Weight and Balance
Key Takeaways:
- The article defines various aircraft weights including Empty Weight, Basic Operating Weight (BOW), Useful Load, and operational limits like Maximum Takeoff and Landing Weights.
- A crucial structural limit is the Maximum Allowable Zero Fuel Weight (MZFW), which sets the maximum weight the fuselage can carry to prevent destructive wing-bending stress, meaning any weight beyond this must be fuel in the wings.
- Aircraft weight and balance calculations determine the Center of Gravity (CG) by using a reference datum to measure "arm" (distance), which, when multiplied by weight, yields "moment."
- The Center of Gravity (CG) must remain within specific forward and aft limits (CG limits), often expressed as a percentage of the Mean Aerodynamic Chord (MAC), to ensure safe and stable flight characteristics.
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