Definition
The standard empty weight of an airplane plus the weight of optional installed equipment, including full engine oil and unusable fuel. Under the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) standard, basic empty weight assumes full operating fluids — most notably full engine oil — and excludes usable fuel, passengers, baggage, and cargo.
Plain English
It is the weight of the airplane on its own, with all the equipment that is bolted in, full oil in the engine, and only the fuel that cannot be drained or burned. Nothing else is in it — no people, no bags, no usable fuel.
Context Anchor
Seen in weight-and-balance information, the airplane’s operating handbook, and aircraft weight records.
Derivation
GAMA stands for the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, the industry group that standardized the format of modern Pilot's Operating Handbooks in the 1970s. Before this standard, manufacturers used different rules for what counted as 'empty,' which made comparisons and calculations confusing. The GAMA standard fixed the rules so that 'basic empty weight' means the same thing across modern aircraft.
Why Pilots Care
It serves as the baseline for determining maximum allowable payload and ensuring the aircraft remains within its certified weight limits.
Intuition Check
Do not read “empty” as meaning no fuel, oil, fluids, or equipment. In this term, the airplane is empty of people, baggage, and usable flight fuel, but it still includes unusable fuel, full oil and fluids, and installed equipment.
Example Sentence 1
Before loading passengers, the pilot started the weight and balance worksheet with the basic empty weight listed in the POH.
Example Sentence 2
Before loading passengers and baggage, the pilot subtracts the basic empty weight from the maximum gross weight to find the available useful load.