Definition
The total weight of the airplane while standing on the ramp before engine start, including all fuel, oil, passengers, baggage, and any other load. It is greater than the takeoff weight by the amount of fuel that will be burned during start, taxi, and run-up.
Plain English
How much the airplane weighs sitting on the ground, fully loaded and fueled, before the engines are started.
Context Anchor
Used in weight-and-balance planning before engine start, taxi, and departure.
Derivation
Ramp refers to the paved area where airplanes are parked, fueled, and loaded. The term names the weight of the aircraft at that point in the operation -- before it has moved or burned any fuel.
Why Pilots Care
Ramp weight must remain below the aircraft's maximum allowable limit to protect landing gear and structure during taxi, and it serves as the starting point for all fuel-burn and center-of-gravity calculations.
Intuition Check
Do not read “ramp” as a hill or incline here. In this term, the ramp is the aircraft parking and loading area at the airport.
Example Sentence 1
After loading the bags and topping off the tanks, the pilot calculated a ramp weight of 2,540 pounds, which was within the airplane's maximum ramp weight limit.
Example Sentence 2
After adding the final cargo, the computed ramp weight determined how much runway would be needed for takeoff.