Learning new plane: Diamond DA-40 w/G1000

Jaybird180 said:
I've been playing around with a W&B calculator I made with excel, using the POH figures...how do you get this airplane to balance? Using the figures I would have used for my XC (that I didn't do), I would have to be creative.

I likely have flown with it forward CG range with the CFI before either of us checked the W&B.
Click to expand...

We have the extended range tanks, which lops the aft part of the CG envelope off... But we tend toward the forward side of the envelope anyway, especially with me aboard. ;)

We can take 465 lb. in the front seats with full fuel and nothing else before hitting the front CG. That puts us only 30 pounds under MGW though, so if we throw another 20 pounds in the front seat, 10 pounds in the rear baggage compartment more than balances it out.

If there's a person in a rear seat - No problem at all. Very little baggage - No problem at all. Just something to be aware of.

For reference - On the plane you're flying, what's the tail number, empty weight and arm, and what size fuel tanks? Also, does it have the performance landing gear (landing weight increase to 2535 lb) and/or the max gross weight increase (to 2645 lb)? There's quite a lot of different things that can vary from plane to plane and especially year to year - There are both tail ballast (used more on earlier planes) and nose ballast (used more on later planes) kits available for those who have chronic W&B issues, so clearly the variability is high in this type of aircraft. Luckily, it also doesn't take much to keep them in the envelope IME.
 
John, what did you use for calculation (the graphical representation)?

Cheese, I used the sample from the POH, assuming standard tanks, gear and baggage configuration.
 
Just a spreadsheet I've got. I lost track of where I got the original, but I've morphed and adapted it for several planes. Still don't have the logic on "inside the box vs outside the box" right, but it's close. Calls an alarm when in or above the cut-off corner.
 
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