Judah writes:

Does MSFS let you set the weight of the pilot?

It depends on the aircraft. Some just have one station for which you
set a total weight. Others have many stations for which you can set
individual weights. For example, in a Baron 58, you can set the
weight of the person in each seat, plus the baggage at the back.

For large commercial jets there is sometimes a complete planning page
where you can set weights at many different stations in the aircraft.

That's kinda neat. I wish I could do the same in real life!

It makes it easy to set weights in the aircraft, but unfortunately it
doesn't tell you how to get everything balanced correctly.

The diagram you see probably represents the CG envelope, which is what most
pilots use too. As long as you're in the envelope, you're safe. Front side of
the envelope is more stable, rear side is less stable. Think of an arrow - if
you weigh down the tip it will fly straighter, if you weigh down the feather
it will fly faster.

That's what I seem to notice, but it took me a while to realize why
some aircraft were pitching upward on their own and others were
pitching downward.

One thing I wonder is this: If I'm alone in the aircraft, in the left
seat at the front, can I put an counterbalancing weight in the rear
seat on the right, or would putting weight in a diagonally opposed
position make the aircraft unstable? If it works, it would be easier
to balance things; I could throw some sandbags in the right rear
corner of the aircraft to balance my weight.

This is all basic flight training stuff. I would recommend the book "Stick
and Rudder" as a good starting place.

I looked for it at the pilot's store Thursday, but I couldn't find it.
It's hard to find English specialty books here.

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