Definition
The forward and aft points along the airplane's longitudinal axis between which the center of gravity must remain for the aircraft to be safely flown. These limits are specified by the manufacturer and published in the Airplane Flight Manual or Pilot's Operating Handbook.
Plain English
The front-most and back-most positions where the airplane's balance point is allowed to be. If the balance point sits anywhere between those two spots, the airplane will handle as designed. If it falls outside them, it won't.
Context Anchor
Seen during weight-and-balance planning in the aircraft flight manual or pilot’s operating handbook before a flight.
Derivation
Center comes from an old word meaning the middle point, and gravity comes from a Latin word meaning heaviness or weight. Limit comes from a Latin word meaning boundary. Together, the phrase points to the approved boundaries for where the airplane’s weight may balance.
Why Pilots Care
Exceeding the limits reduces stability or control authority and can make the airplane unsafe or impossible to fly.
Grounding Statement
Before takeoff, picture the loaded airplane balancing at one point; that point must fall inside the approved range.
Intuition Check
Do not assume center-of-gravity limits mean the airplane must balance exactly in the middle. They mean the balance point must stay inside an approved range.
Example Sentence 1
After loading the baggage and passengers, the pilot calculated the center of gravity and confirmed it was within the center-of-gravity limits published in the POH.
Example Sentence 2
Moving baggage forward brought the center of gravity back inside the approved center-of-gravity limits.