Plain English Meaning
A pencil-and-paper (or calculator) way of working out how heavy the aircraft is and where its balance point sits, by doing the arithmetic yourself rather than reading the answer off a chart or graph.
Full Definition
A weight and balance technique in which the pilot calculates the aircraft's loaded weight and center of gravity (CG) by multiplying each item's weight by its arm (distance from the reference datum) to get a moment, then summing all weights and all moments and dividing total moment by total weight to find the CG location.
Context Anchor
Seen in weight-and-balance planning before , especially when passengers, baggage, and .