Gross Weight Decrease

fsuseminole

fsuseminole

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Fsuseminole
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1A5, KTLH
I recently purchased a piper 235 and was looking through the weight and balance history. I noticed that the gross weight changed from 3000 down to 2900. What could have caused this to happen. The aircraft did have a prop strike prior to the new w&b in 2004 but they rebuilt the engine and fixed some damage to the firewall. I wouldn't think that would cause the gross weight to decrease. Does anyone have an idea why it changed.

Colin
 
Which year/SN? Prior to 72 had 2900 and the later had the 5" stretch and had 3000 as gross weight. Any STC's go in at the same time? Perhaps something required the reduction.
 
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Are you looking at the W&B calculation history to obtain these numbers? or the 337's that were prepared when changes occurred? or something else?
 
It's a 1973/SN: 28-7410030

I am looking at the changes in weight and balance in my POH. Prior to 2008 the gross weight was 3000 and it was recalculated when the panel was upgraded in 2008. The 2008 one shows a decrease in the gross weight to 2900
 
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Do your airplane records include the original W&B?

fsuseminole said:
It's a 1973/SN: 28-7410030

I am looking at the changes in weight and balance in my POH. Prior to 2008 the gross weight was 3000 and it was recalculated when the panel was upgraded in 2008. The 2008 one shows a decrease in the gross weight to 2900
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fsuseminole said:
It's a 1973/SN: 28-7410030

I am looking at the changes in weight and balance in my POH. Prior to 2008 the gross weight was 3000 and it was recalculated when the panel was upgraded in 2008. The 2008 one shows a decrease in the gross weight to 2900
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Likely a typo
 
Bluebook specifications index shows the S/N as a '74 Pathfinder all of which were 3,000 G/W. The airplane records will clearly take precedence, but assuming they show the same limitation your mechanic can correct the entry in your book.

I've found numerous mistakes in various schedules over the years, most prepared prior to Excel or other tools. Not a biggie.
 
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wabower said:
Bluebook specifications index shows the S/N as a '74 Pathfinder all of which were 3,000 G/W.
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According too the FAA title search it was MFR year was '73, but it is a 74' pathfinder. Anyways it should have a 3000 gross weight. So maybe it was a typo.
 
fsuseminole said:
According too the FAA title search it was MFR year was '73, but it is a 74' pathfinder. Anyways it should have a 3000 gross weight. So maybe it was a typo.
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Now for the catch, you will need an A&P to correct this, but a quick check of the TCDS should satisfy the mechanic sufficiently to re do the W&B
 
The first two numbers of Piper serial numbers indicate the model year. The NAAA appraiser association typically uses year of manufacture in order to provide consistent reporting, but situations like yours give them heartburn.

In any event it's difficult to argue that an airplane with a 74X serial number is anything other than a 74.

fsuseminole said:
According too the FAA title search it was MFR year was '73, but it is a 74' pathfinder. Anyways it should have a 3000 gross weight. So maybe it was a typo.
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wabower said:
The first two numbers of Piper serial numbers indicate the model year. The NAAA appraiser association typically uses year of manufacture in order to provide consistent reporting, but situations like yours give them heartburn.

In any event it's difficult to argue that an airplane with a 74X serial number is anything other than a 74.
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Thanks for the clarity. I always thought it was a '74 and wondered why they put it as a '73
 
Skylane81E said:
Likely built in 73 for the 74 model year
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This. The Ovation I'm flying is, according to Mooney, a 1997 model (the 6th one off the line), but because it got its airworthiness certificate about 2 weeks prior to the end of 1996, the FAA has it registered as a 1996.
 
What does it typically cost to just have it reweighed and eliminate the guess work?
 
ajstoner21 said:
What does it typically cost to just have it reweighed and eliminate the guess work?
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Max gross weight is NOT a function of weighing the aircraft. That would be empty weight.

It's a function of installed equipment, such as control surfaces and the engine.
 
ajstoner21 said:
What does it typically cost to just have it reweighed and eliminate the guess work?
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irrelevant to the allowable gross weight. But the answer is it takes a set of scales and up to half a day depending on how much fuel you have to drain and handle.
 
The original post wasnt talking about maximum gross weight, was he? Since he was talking about something in the weight and balance records, I would assume he was talking about empty weight. So again, what's it cost to just reweigh?
 
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My mistake. Totally misread the original post. But I'm still wondering. What does jt cost to re weigh?
 
ajstoner21 said:
My mistake. Totally misread the original post. But I'm still wondering. What does jt cost to re weigh?
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again, about a half day at the rate yout favorite A&P charges. maybe less if you bring it in with almost empty tanks
 
ajstoner21 said:
The original post wasnt talking about maximum gross weight, was he? Since he was talking about something in the weight and balance records, I would assume he was talking about empty weight. So again, what's it cost to just reweigh?
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Some mechanics add additional information on the weight and balance revisions such as the gross weight and useful load, after they determine the empty weight. The extra information invites more possibility for error as seen here.
 
bnt83 said:
Some mechanics add additional information on the weight and balance revisions such as the gross weight and useful load, after they determine the empty weight. The extra information invites more possibility for error as seen here.
Click to expand...

That clears up my initial confusion. Thanks. Blond moment lol.
 
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