Definition
A condition in which an aircraft's center of gravity is located forward of its ideal position, causing the nose to pitch downward and requiring continuous nose-up control input or trim to maintain level flight.
Plain English
The aircraft wants to point its nose down because more of its weight is loaded toward the front than it should be.
Context Anchor
Used in discussions of loading, center of gravity, trim, and longitudinal stability.
Derivation
The phrase comes from the way the airplane feels in pitch: the nose feels as if it is carrying extra weight and wants to drop. It does not necessarily mean the nose section itself is overloaded; it describes the airplane's balance and control feel.
Why Pilots Care
A nose-heavy condition raises stall speed, increases control forces, and can make takeoff rotation and flare more difficult.
Analogy
It is like a seesaw with more weight on the front side: the front wants to go down unless something pushes or balances it back up.
Grounding Statement
If the airplane keeps trying to lower its nose when the pilot wants level flight, it is acting nose heavy.
Intuition Check
Nose heavy does not simply mean there is heavy baggage in the nose. Here it means the airplane has a nose-down pitching tendency because of its balance or trim condition.
Example Sentence 1
After loading two passengers in the front seats and leaving the baggage compartment empty, the pilot noticed the aircraft felt nose heavy on the takeoff roll.
Example Sentence 2
The pilot applied nose-up trim to relieve the back pressure needed to hold level flight in the nose-heavy condition.