Definition
A lateral imbalance in which one wing carries more weight than the other, causing the aircraft to roll toward the heavier wing unless the pilot applies opposite aileron or trim to keep the wings level.
Plain English
One wing is heavier than the other, so the airplane wants to tip in that direction during flight, and the pilot has to hold the controls against it to fly straight and level.
Context Anchor
Seen in weight-and-balance, fuel management, and flight control discussions, especially when an airplane needs constant pressure to keep the wings level.
Why Pilots Care
The rolling tendency increases pilot workload and can exceed aileron authority if the imbalance is large, making coordinated flight and safe maneuvering more difficult.
Intuition Check
Wing-heavy does not usually mean the wing itself was built heavier or is damaged. It means the airplane is out of side-to-side balance and tends to roll toward one wing.
Example Sentence 1
After burning fuel from only the left tank for an hour, the pilot noticed a wing-heavy condition and switched tanks to even out the load.
Example Sentence 2
The instructor demonstrated how a wing-heavy condition affects roll rate during a slow flight exercise.