Plain English Meaning

The simple math a pilot does before flight to make sure the aircraft is not too heavy and that its load is balanced correctly.

Full Definition

In aviation weight and balance work, the set of arithmetic steps used to determine an aircraft's total weight and the location of its center of gravity (CG) before flight. The pilot multiplies each item's weight by its arm (distance from the reference datum) to get a moment, sums all weights and all moments, then divides total moment by total weight to find the CG position.

Context Anchor

Seen in flight planning, , , problems, and work.