Gross Weight

As a practical matter, if being 45 pounds over gross makes the difference
between somebody going or being left behind, I can tell you that you'll be as
popular as a turd in the punchbowl if you leave that person behind.

Leave some gas behind and alter your flight plan if necessary.

If your limit is 45 over gross, how far over your limit is ok?

Jose
--
Nothing takes longer than a shortcut.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

Jose wrote:
If your limit is 45 over gross, how far over your limit is ok?



It depends on the aircraft. Some are more capable than others. It depends on
the weather. I'm more willing to carry a load in cold weather than hot. Less
in cold wet weather. And it depends on how bad do I need to get there with the
load. And what the consequences are of not doing it.

There is no simple pat answer.... unless you tend to think in terms of black and
white.




--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN

VE

If your limit is 45 over gross, how far over your limit is ok?

It depends on the aircraft.

Well then, what does the word "limit" mean to you?

As a test pilot, I agree there is no simple pat answer, and a previous
post went into many of the factors that go into aircraft handling at
high weights. But I'm not a test pilot, and have no intention of being
one. And I've found in life that most of the time I've gotten into
trouble with the laws of physics has been when I've been "over the
limit" in one form or another. I'll stick with the book.

That said, it would be nice if the book addressed limits a bit more
completely (such as a graph showing the maximum takeoff weight vs
density altitude). It doesn't, so I won't go there.

Jose
--
Nothing takes longer than a shortcut.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

But I'm not a test pilot, and
have no intention of being one.

If being 1lb over-weight makes you a test pilot, then so does having an
engine which is operating at 1hp less that its rated outputs. Or a wing
that is contaminated with bugs and is producing less than the CoL that
was present during POH testing. Or brakes that are operating at 1% less
than new condition. Or, well, you get the idea...........

Engine horsepower will have no effect on what happens to the landing gear
when you are over gross, or out of balance...



"Mike Granby" wrote in message
oups.com...

But I'm not a test pilot, and
have no intention of being one.

If being 1lb over-weight makes you a test pilot, then so does having an
engine which is operating at 1hp less that its rated outputs. Or a wing
that is contaminated with bugs and is producing less than the CoL that
was present during POH testing. Or brakes that are operating at 1% less
than new condition. Or, well, you get the idea...........

"Lakeview Bill" wrote in message
...
Engine horsepower will have no effect on what happens to the landing gear
when you are over gross, or out of balance...

Does the landing gear fall off if you are overgross or out of CG?

I can only assume that you didn't ask the question that you intended to
ask...



"Dave Stadt" wrote in message
...

"Lakeview Bill" wrote in message
...
Engine horsepower will have no effect on what happens to the landing
gear
when you are over gross, or out of balance...

Does the landing gear fall off if you are overgross or out of CG?

Engine horsepower will have no effect on
what happens to the landing gear when
you are over gross, or out of balance...

If 1lb over-weight breaks the landing gear, you need more landing
practice. Hell, if 200lb over-weight breaks it, you're still banging it
in way too hard.........

Exactly what we were discussing at work.....

I guess maybe it might relate to how many drinks can I have in a specified
period before driving home.....

Fred

"Jose" wrote in message
m...
As a practical matter, if being 45 pounds over gross makes the difference
between somebody going or being left behind, I can tell you that you'll
be as popular as a turd in the punchbowl if you leave that person behind.

Leave some gas behind and alter your flight plan if necessary.

If your limit is 45 over gross, how far over your limit is ok?

Jose
--
Nothing takes longer than a shortcut.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

Exactly what we were discussing at work.....

I guess maybe it might relate to how many drinks can I have in a specified
period before driving home.....

Actually, I've found alcohol to be quite useful in aviation. In
situations where I'd be over gross, I have a few six-packs of beer. If
the pilot is already flying, then his weight can be subtracted from the
manifest, allowing more cargo, or more fuel. By getting the passengers
suitably high also, I can reclaim almost all the payload that way. So
then, after the passengers have boarded the airplane, I calculate how
much extra fuel each one represents, and have the FBO fill up one of
those big fifty gallon drums full and we load it into the cargo
compartment... you know, the one in the back that says "200 pounds max".
Well, ok 50 gallons is 300 pounds, but if we average that over the
whole airframe we're only 25 pounds over per passenger (and the bigger
the passenger, the less that 25 pounds is, percent wise). And more fuel
makes you safer anyway.

So then I get on the runway, open the throttle, and climb as fast as I
can. Really pull back on that yoke - the plane should climb like a bat
out of hell, since it's virtually empty.

Remember - eight bottles, then throttle.

Jose
(*) kids - don't try this at home!
--
Get high on gasoline. Fly an airplane.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.