Weight & Balance

[akarmy]

It’s time to find out the damage. Have I made it lighter, or heavier? All those good ideas add up and the day of recogining comes when you roll onto the scales. No matter “WHY” you added those items, they will all show up in the final weight. Now keep in mind that I got this plane as a tri-gear, with wheel pants, dual alternators, dual batteries, etc etc etc…



The grand total = 837lbs! I was really hoping for closer to 800, but hey wach-u-gonna-do? The original W&B I have from the builder lists 833. That was without wheel pants as a tri-gear. Makes me wonder if the scales were calibrated. Oh well, at least it didn’t gain too much!

[t j]

You are doing pretty well I would say. It is difficult to keep the airplane from gaining weight. Adding one small item at a time seems harmless enough at the time but after a few years it does add up.

I installed an oil injection system this winter and reweighed. I weighed all the parts before installing them and the total was about 2.5 pounds. I could have just calculated the new weight and balance but wanted to reweigh because I have put on a few things here and there over the past three years. Wing strut fairing two years ago was a heavy item...about 12.5 pounds. Anyhow, my kitfox has gained 26 pounds in the past three years.

Anyone else want to confess?

[Slyfox]

yup, it's always tough to except the fact that things under the seat or thrown in the back are even there. I figured I gained 30 lbs of junk in the plane. So I went on a junk food diet, I than lost 30lbs off my behind and I feel this was a doable trade off.

[SkyPirate]

it could be that the day you inflated the tires ..the air was "heavy " or it might be that brass heat sink on the oil temp sending unit
hmmm yup ,..that's prolly it

Chase