Definition
The maximum and minimum loading values, and the allowable range of center-of-gravity locations, established by the aircraft manufacturer and published in the Pilot's Operating Handbook or Airplane Flight Manual. An aircraft must be loaded so that its total weight does not exceed the maximum allowable weight and its center of gravity falls within the forward and aft limits for that weight.
Plain English
The rules for how heavy an aircraft can be loaded and where that weight can sit inside it. Stay within these numbers and the aircraft will fly the way it was designed to fly.
Context Anchor
Pilots encounter weight and balance limits during preflight planning, especially when loading passengers, baggage, and fuel.
Derivation
“Balance” originally relates to scales used for weighing. That helps here because the term is about more than total heaviness; it is also about where the weight sits in the aircraft.
Why Pilots Care
Operating outside these limits can make the aircraft uncontrollable, reduce performance, or cause structural damage.
Analogy
It is like loading a wheelbarrow: the total load matters, but where the load sits matters too. Too much weight in the wrong place can make it difficult to handle.
Intuition Check
Do not read “balance” as keeping the wings level in flight. Here it means the front-to-back distribution of weight inside the aircraft.
Example Sentence 1
Before departure, the pilot calculated the loaded weight and center of gravity and confirmed both were within the weight and balance limits published in the POH.
Example Sentence 2
Shifting baggage aft moved the center of gravity outside the weight and balance limits, requiring a reload.