I would be much more concerned with the BALANCE part of W&B. Yes, 100
pounds over gross is not wise, at it reduces your safety margin with
turbulence, and landing and takeoff distances.

But you really need to make sure that your CG is not out of the
allowable range -- with rear-seat pax and luggage, it could be pretty
far back. Also, you have specific weight limits in the rear luggage
area -- it's all in the POH.

So, but your heaviest passenger in the front seat, and the lightest
luggage in the rear area, and see where your CG lies.

On Thu, 17 Apr 2008 05:53:07 -0400, tman inv@lid wrote:

Flown C172's for quite a while, and never had anybody in the back.
Now I'm planning on quite a trip, with 2 pax and luggage.

When I fill the fuel to the *tabs*, calc everyone's weight honestly and
consider baggage -- I'm 75 lbs over the 2450 gross on departure. Maybe
100 over gross if I assume a "lie about weight" factor or some
inaccuracy with filling the tanks. Now I'm scratching my head about
just how risky this is. I know (others) have pushed over gross in these
planes way more under worse conditions, and have almost always gotten
away with it. I'm inclined to just do it, and be cognizant that it will
perform differently, i.e. don't expect the same picture on climbout that
you would when solo.

Risky? Or just roundoff error on the weight? Here are some other factors:

This is the 160HP C172, standard.
Departure runway is 5000'.
No steep terrain to climb out of.
Plenty of alternates along with the way with 3000 runways.
Not particularly hot, humid, or high. 50 degrees at 1000 MSL for
departure or any point of landing.

I'm figuring I'm 3% over gross, causing most of my V speeds to increase
1.5%, so say -- instead of flying short final at 65 knots, I'd fly at 66
knots... OK wait I can't hold airspeed to +/- 1 knot on most days anyways.

I'm thinking through many of the factors, and it is only a "little" over
gross, only on the first hour or so of the trip. What else should I be
aware of? Am I dangerous?

T
--
Jay (remove dashes for legal email address)