Fred Choate wrote:

Here is a topic that was of discussion at work today:

How much is too much over gross weight? For example.....the 172 has a gross
weight of 2300 lbs, but what if you are 2345 at time of takeoff.....is that
too much over, even if you are going to be burning enough fuel before your
first scheduled stop to be under weight for landing?

One pound over is too much if you want to be legal, maintain your
insurance, have the airplane perform according to published specs, etc.


What about airframe age, prop age...etc? Does it make a difference on
decision to "carry a little extra"?

Most airplanes don't perform better with age so having a tired engine
and then overloading certainly isn't going to make things any better.


I know that when I was receiving training, my instructor once had me bring 2
male adults with me to a lesson. That put 4 male adults in a 172 with full
fuel. I don't recall the specific weight we were at, but we were over
weight. The airport we flying out of had 8000' of runway, and my instructor
had me doing pattern work. The aircraft was very clumsy, and made me really
work at flying it. I didn't like that feeling at all! It was a good
training day.

Your instructor was (maybe still is) a moron.


Anyway, it was a good discussion between a few of us at work, so I thought
it might make a good topic here.

Why?

I would only knowingly fly an airplane over gross in an emergency
situation. Most airplanes are probably fine a few percent over gross,
but you may well be exploring unknown territory if you fly over gross.


Matt