Chapter 1

Weight and balance

The amount of lift produced by an airfoil is limited by the airfoil design, angle of
attack (AOA), airspeed, and air density.
The most important performance deficiencies of an overloaded aircraft are:
Higher takeoff speed
Longer takeoff run
Reduced rate and angle of climb
Lower maximum altitude
Shorter range
Reduced cruising speed
Reduced maneuverability
Higher stalling speed
Higher approach and landing speed
Longer landing roll
Excessive weight on the nose wheel or tail wheel
Preflight planning should include a check of performance charts to determine if the
aircrafts weight may contribute to hazardous flight operations.
Weight Changes
The operating weight of an aircraft can be changed by simply altering the fuel load.
Gasoline has considerable weight6 pounds per gallon. Thirty gallons of fuel may
weigh more than one passenger. If a pilot lowers airplane weight by reducing fuel,
the resulting decrease in the range of the airplane must be taken into consideration
during flight planning. During flight, fuel burn is normally the only weight change
that takes place. As fuel is used, an aircraft becomes lighter and performance is
improved.
The CG is a point at which the aircraft would balance if it were suspended at that
point.
The distance between the forward and back limits for the position of the center for
gravity or CG range is certified for an aircraft by the manufacturer.
The pilot should realize that if the CG is displaced too far forward on the longitudinal
axis, a nose-heavy condition will result. Conversely, if the CG is displaced too far aft
on the longitudinal axis, a tail heavy condition results.
In an airplane, lateral unbalance occurs if the fuel load is mismanaged by supplying
the engine(s) unevenly from tanks on one side of the airplane.
The pilot can compensate for the resulting wing-heavy condition by adjusting the
trim or by holding a constant control pressure. This action places the aircraft
controls in an out-of-streamline condition, increases drag, and results in decreased
operating efficiency.
During landing, one of the most critical phases of flight, exceeding the forward CG
limit may result in excessive loads on the nosewheel, a tendency to nose over on
tailwheel type airplanes, decreased performance, higher stalling speeds, and higher
control forces.
1 An aeroplane in straight and level flight at 200 kt is subjected to a sudden
disturbance in speed. Assuming the angle of attack remains constant initially and
the load factor reaches a value of 1.21:Answer: the speed will have increased by 20
kt.

Load factor = lift/weight so in straight and level flight lift = weight and load factor =
1
Increasing load factor to 1.21 means that lift has multiplied by a factor of 1.21.

Lift = CL1/2RhoVsquared

So lift is proportional to the square of the speed

In the case of a sudden gust the increase in lift is proportional to the square of the
increase in speed.

So to increase lift by a factor of 1.21 we must increase sped by a factor of the

square root of 1.21.

The square root of 1.21 is 1.1. So the speed in this question has increased by 0.1
which is 10%.
The initial speed was 200 knots so the increase is 20 knots.

2) Approximately how long does it take to fly a complete circle during a horizontal
steady coordinated turn with a bank angle of 45 and a TAS of 288 kt?
Answer: 95 s

Radius of turn = Vsquared / g TanAOB

Circumference of turn = 2Pi x radius of trun

So Circumference of turn = 2 Pi V squared / g TanAOB

Time to turn = Circumference of turn / Velocity

So Time to turn = 2 Pi V / g Tan AOB Equation 1

We must ensure that both the Velocity and g are in the same units. If we use g in
metres per second squared we must convert the knots into metres squared per
second squared by multiplying by 0.515.

AOB is 45 degrees and TAN AOB = 1G = 9.81 metres per second squared.

TAS = 288 knots

Inserting the above data into equation 1 gives

Time to turn = ( 2 Pi x (288 x 0.515) ) / (9.81 x 1) = 95 seconds.

3) An aeroplane in straight and level flight at a speed of 2 VS. If, at this speed, a
vertical gust causes a load factor of 3, the load factor n caused by the same gust at
a speed of 1.2 VS would be:
Answer: not greater than 1.44, because the aeroplane is stalled with a higher load
facto rat 1.2 VS I have no idea how to figure it out.

Stall speed at any given weight is proportional to the square root of the load factor.

Rearranging this equation the load factor at which an aircraft stalls at any given
weight is proportional to the square of the speed.

So for example at VS the load factor at which the aircraft stalls will be in the stalls
will be 1 squared which is 1.

And at 1.1VS the load factor at which an aircraft stalls will be 1.1 squared which is
1.21.

In this question the speed is 1.2VS so the load factor at which it stall will be 1.2
squared which is 1.44. This means that the load factor in the gust cannot be greater
than 1.44 because that is the load factor at which it stalled.