Van's Air Force
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Weight & Balance Display
- Thread starter jeffwhip
- Start date
Bill_H
Well Known Member
What kind of EFIS do you have?
Foreflight has a new feature to do this in the PRO version.
Got me to thinking. I would have to do some sensitivity calcs, but I would bet you could put a strain gauge on each gear leg, calibrate them for a known empty weight and CG, further calibrate them by loading test weights, and then with the signals (and while on the ground) dynamically calculate and display actual loaded weight and CG as you load and get aboard the plane. Anyone ever cobble something like that together?
Foreflight has a new feature to do this in the PRO version.
Got me to thinking. I would have to do some sensitivity calcs, but I would bet you could put a strain gauge on each gear leg, calibrate them for a known empty weight and CG, further calibrate them by loading test weights, and then with the signals (and while on the ground) dynamically calculate and display actual loaded weight and CG as you load and get aboard the plane. Anyone ever cobble something like that together?
BruceEicher
Well Known Member
I use WnB Pro app on my iPad. It shows current entered fuel and minimal fuel as you set.
rleffler
Well Known Member
There is a graphical display available on both the AFS EFIS and an iPad application. However, I'm not aware of any that show real time data. It's just a point in time based upon the data you enter.
Toobuilder
Well Known Member
Not sure how many other people do this, but my paper W/B records that I keep in the airplane show both full fuel and empty for every loading scenario. It's nice to know that no matter what happens to your fuel during flight, you're not going to drop out of the envelope.
I have the AFS in my -10 and its great. You enter weight for each passenger location, bags and then gallons of fuel. Very nice tool. I also keep paper W&B info for all loading scenarios. I did not realize the -10 would go out of the envelope (rear cg) with low fuel, so now I plan a little differently on the long trips.
Rainier Lamers
Well Known Member
We experimented with this. Of course it only works on the ground so it can't give you CG in flight (that may change with fuel burned or pax jumping out - they do that you know...).
It's quite cool but is of course not so easy to apply as the strain gauges have to be custom designed and the undercarriage must be suitable.
So, no you are not wrong at all...
Rainier
CEO MGL Avionics
BillL
Well Known Member
Actually, it would seem that density altitude, g-loading, and AOA would give a more accurate reading, and it would be real time. Of course, it would be too late if loaded improperly, but it would be dynamic.
ColoRv
Well Known Member
I'm not really sure how an accurate to the current gallon CG would be used. I know when I get in the plane what my max fuel and min fuel CG will be with current loading. Would I fly any differently if I knew it was exactly 85.8 versus knowing its fairly aft by looking at my fuel gauges? I like wiz bang as much or more than the next guy but this would be a page I never flipped to.
I know my G3X will do W&B, but I have an app on my phone that is just too easy to use and I honestly haven't even put the numbers into the G3X. I put stuff on the scale, stuff it into the plane, slide the bars on the WnB Pro app and if the green and red dots are inside the lines....off I go. Where the CG is at any moment in the flight isn't something I currently care about as long as I know I can't burn enough fuel to get out of the envelope. What am I missing?
I know my G3X will do W&B, but I have an app on my phone that is just too easy to use and I honestly haven't even put the numbers into the G3X. I put stuff on the scale, stuff it into the plane, slide the bars on the WnB Pro app and if the green and red dots are inside the lines....off I go. Where the CG is at any moment in the flight isn't something I currently care about as long as I know I can't burn enough fuel to get out of the envelope. What am I missing?
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rleffler
Well Known Member
The AFS W&B runs only on the AFS EFIS and an iPad. Neither version is integrated into any gauges. It's just a static calculator like an e6b.
