Mass and Balance
- Category: 031 Mass and Balance
- Lead SME: Graeme Wood
What Does Mass and Balance cover?
Mass and Balance is a very mathematically based subject which is all to do with how an aeroplane is weighed loaded and its Centre of Gravity is calculated.
The theory is mainly concerned with the weighing requirements, how the CG and Mass of the aeroplane effects its performance and stability. There are also several terms and descriptions and their relationships that you need to understand.
The remainder of the topic is to do with completing load and trim sheets, calculating allowable loads and underloads. You will also need to be able to calculate masses that need to be moved, added or removed to obtain a given CG position or the effect of the load change on the CG position. Finally, you will need to understand about floor loading and load intensity and calculate the limiting values.
The subject requires a minimum of 20 hours teaching, the exam is 1 ΒΌ hours long with 25 questions with each question worth between one and three marks depending on the complexity of the question. Most of the questions are calculation based with several theory questions.