Some Weight In The Back?

You shouldnt have gotten through private pilot ground school without understanding that, for the same power and weight, minimizing drag will result in an increased airspeed. A gross example might be the difference in airspeed with flaps extended at, say, 55-percent power and when theyre retracted. Of course, no one cruises with flaps extended, but you may inadvertently be adding to the airplanes total drag in cruise when you load it.

Joseph E. (Jeb) Burnside

Tuesday, July 21, 2015 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

To maximize an aircraft's cruise speed, pilots should minimize drag, specifically by reducing elevator/stabilator deflection.
This reduction in drag is achieved by strategically loading the aircraft to shift its Center of Gravity (CG) aft, which lessens the required downforce from the horizontal tail to maintain level flight.
While an aft CG minimizes both induced and parasite drag, resulting in a faster cruise speed, it also leads to decreased pitch stability and must always be managed within the aircraft's approved weight and balance envelope.

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You shouldn’t have gotten through private pilot ground school without understanding that, for the same power and weight, minimizing drag will result in an increased airspeed. A gross example might be the difference in airspeed with flaps extended at, say, 55-percent power and when they’re retracted. Of course, no one cruises with flaps extended, but you may inadvertently be adding to the airplane’s total drag in cruise when you load it.

In a conventional airplane, i.e., one lacking a canard, minimizing the elevator/stabilator’s deflection in cruise reduces drag and can buy you a couple of knots, depending. (The same basic dynamic exists when flying something with a canard—minimize the pitch-control surface’s drag and you’ll fly faster—but we want to talk about what most of us fly.) How much weight to place aft and thereby minimize elevator/stabilator deflection depends on the airplane and how other items are loaded, of course, and you must always stay within CG limits. But if you can easily and safety manipulate your CG, you can go faster.