ATPL MASS AND BALANCE SUMMARY

ATPL MASS AND BALANCE • SUMMARY

MASS AND BALANCE INTRODUCTION



• Deals with the loading of aircraft

• Ensure that they are not overloaded or misloaded

,MASS AND BALANCE

, MASS AND BALANCE THEORY

• DEFINITION

• Mass: the amount of an item inside a body

• Datum: A point along the longitudinal axis (centre line) of the aeroplane (or its extension) designated by the manufacturer as the zero or
reference point from which all balance arms (distances) begin.

• Centre of Gravity :The point through which the force of gravity is said to act on a mass (in aircraft terms, the point on the aircraft
through which the total mass is said to act in a vertically downward manner).

• Centre of Gravity Limits: The CG is not a fixed point; it has a range of movement between a maximum forward position and a maximum
rearward position which is set by the aircraft manufacturer and cannot be exceeded.

• Balance Arm :The distance from the aircraft’s datum to the CG position or centroid of a body or mass.

• A Loading Index: is simply a moment divided by a constant and has the effect of reducing the magnitude of the moment to one that is
much easier to use.

• Moment: the product of the mass and the balance arm = mass * arm