My 182 weight & balance

saddletramp

saddletramp

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saddletramp
In prepping for my CFI reinstatement ride I decided since I'll be using my newly purchased 182A I should do a weight & balance. I know the early 182s are prone to being nose heavy but when I figured my airplane with full tanks & me & wife aboard with are just outside of the forward CG envelope. I figured I'd be fine for the checkride since I'll burn two hours of fuel getting to the location of the checkride. Although the examiner will be much heavier than my wife.

I'm considering putting a 100# weight in the baggage compartment while my wife & I are airborne just to adjust the GC rearward. Is this a crazy idea?

I've got hundreds of hours in 182s over the years & know they can be nose heavy with two front occupants but I didn't remember being out of the CG range. What are some of your experiences loading 182s?
 
I don't like carrying any extra weight, but you need to be in limits, especially for an 'evaluation ride'.

I would ask the examiner his weight and then do at least a base W&B plan at your leasure, ahead of time. This would give an idea of where you need to be, like adding a bit of weight aft. You can fine tune it on the day of if/as the conditions change.

It seems to me, for any check ride, weight,balance, & performance need to be in the forefront of one's mind.
 
sourdough44 said:
I don't like carrying any extra weight, but you need to be in limits, especially for an 'evaluation ride'.
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I don't like carrying the extra weight either, but would also suggest doing so to get it within CG, particularly on a reinstatement checkride.

Long term you might start with the original W&B and work through all the equipment additions and subtractions. You might find that there was a mistake made in a calculation, causing the CG to be shifted from where it really is at. Or you might consider putting it on the scales and weighing it to see where you're really at.
 
Tramp man,

I too struggle with keeping my straight tail inside the envelope. It's almost impossible with two people in fromt without ballast in the rear.

And I've carried ballast...mostly for check rides like you're having...

But as a practical matter I haven't worried much about it otherwise. It has plenty of elevator authority to flare, even with 550# in the front seats. I just don't use the fourth notch of flaps,
 
I don't think I've ever flown one of my own airplanes without 40-50# in the baggage area. Tools, ropes, survival gear...

Spend a couple of bucks on the Aviation Weight & Balance app and you can work your numbers to fit the envelope in seconds.
 
Or just use the one in foreflight if you have it. That's what I use.
 
Can you enter your own airplane's weights and arms or do you have to use a stock template? I like having my plane's actual info templated for wheels and skis. I've never tried the Foreflight version.
 
Yeah, you can enter your specific info.

Then on newer planes, like the diamond I fly. It downloaded the info from somewhere based on the tail number. I have no idea where it came from but it exactly matched the latest W&B for the plane. I thought that was pretty freekin' cool.
 
Thanks. I got in the logbooks & with the latest W & B listed my 182 is barely within the envelope with wife & I. I'm sure the examiner weighs more than my wife's 160# (she is 5'10" btw). I personally know the examiner & estimate him at 225#. Yup, I'll throw a 100# John Deere weight in the back for the checkride.

I am a Foreflight guy too so I'll check out their W & B.
 
I'm 215# fully clothed. My "friend" is about 120#. We're out the front of the envelope with full fuel. Not far our, but out nonetheless.

I won't talk about what it looked like when I took my 350# ex-FiL flying.
 
What ever you place in the baggage compartment, be certain it is properly retained.
 
Tom-D said:
What ever you place in the baggage compartment, be certain it is properly retained.
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That there. Get into turbulence, or have an accident, and see what that weight does. Not pretty.

We used to do considerable cross-country work in the flight school, much of it over pretty remote country. Go down, you might wait a while. When we used ballast, we had a couple of old inner tube sections stuffed with rice and the ends wired shut. They weighed about 45 pounds each. Rice goes a long ways if you're hungry for awhile.
 
Your W&B problem is interesting. I can put 500# in my front seats with any amount of fuel and nothing in back and stay in the 180's envelope. And my plane with big motor, big prop, and firewall battery is "assumed" by most to be nose heavy. I figured the straight tail 182s would have a similar envelope.
 
Stewartb said:
Your W&B problem is interesting. I can put 500# in my front seats with any amount of fuel and nothing in back and stay in the 180's envelope. And my plane with big motor, big prop, and firewall battery is "assumed" by most to be nose heavy. I figured the straight tail 182s would have a similar envelope.
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Take off the tailwheel and that heavy tailspring rod and stick a heavy nosegear on the firewall. That tends to move the CG considerably.
 
Want to see a perfect landing? place 2, 55 gallons of fuel behind them in a beaver.
 
saddletramp said:
Thanks. I got in the logbooks & with the latest W & B listed my 182 is barely within the envelope with wife & I. I'm sure the examiner weighs more than my wife's 160# (she is 5'10" btw). I personally know the examiner & estimate him at 225#. Yup, I'll throw a 100# John Deere weight in the back for the checkride.

I am a Foreflight guy too so I'll check out their W & B.
Click to expand...



Go to Costco and buy two of the 40-packs of water for $2.99 each. Stick them on the baggage compartment.

You now have weight, survival water, and, if you need to leave it behind, you won't care, in fact, the Line Guys will appreciate your gift.
 
Water isn't good, as it can leak.

Some Cardinal RGs get way out of balance with two up front, and I typically used 50 lb of sandbags (conveniently distributed for free right next to the airport terminal gate) when necessary.

At the very least, it will protect that notorious 182 firewall.
 
I throw cases of water in the back of employees' work trucks. They throw tools on them, equipment, etc.

Them little plastic bottles don't leak, they are damn tough. Setting them on the back deck of a baggage area ain't going to cause them to leak.
 
I know our local trainer rental (PA28-140) was discovered it was often just forward of the CG limit with two and full fuel, so they started leaving a case of oil in the baggage compartment for ballast.
 
Our club added 4 pounds somewhere close to the tail of our 182-P. It got rid of all the nose heavy issues. I don't know exactly what that addition entailed but can find details if you would like
 
I took the advice offered here & put two cases of water in the baggage compartment at 38# each. My landing were much better & when I was practicing soft field takeoffs & landings the performance was spectacular. I'm sure the STOL kit helped too.
The water will stay there during my CFI reinstatement check ride next week.
 
midwestpa24 said:
I know our local trainer rental (PA28-140) was discovered it was often just forward of the CG limit with two and full fuel, so they started leaving a case of oil in the baggage compartment for ballast.
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Check ACE 97-02. It provides for using actual front seat position with the Cherokee instead of the mid-position provided in the POH. Helps a lot with the forward CG issue. Just have a heavy passenger put his seat all the way back.
 
saddletramp said:
I personally know the examiner & estimate him at 225#. .
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Me, I'd call him up and ask for his actual weight. Getcha a couple bonus "points" before the ride. You could even explain why you need his due to your plane. Few more points right there. Then you could, oh never mind, I'm getting carried away now. But really, do call and get his actual weight. Good luck!
 
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