Have you weighed your aircraft lately?

[Walt]

I was kinda surprised after re-weighing my own aircraft just the other day. I had it weighed before flying and paint and have done a few upgrades which included the following:

Painted with Jet Glow, Leather seats and sidewall panels, installed an SD-8, upgraded to grove wheels/brakes with goodyear FC III tires, installed the autopilot pitch servo, installed 2nd SL 40 com, upgraded from SL70 to GX330, added the 696, installed an avionics coolng fan, installed HID landing lights, added the heavier weldon FI pump (converted from carb to AFP FI).

Total weight gain 68 lbs

New empty weight 1170

New restrictions as a result of this include less than full fuel for wife and I with 100 lbs of baggage, aerobatic catagory down to a really light passenger with minumum fuel or just pilot and 38 gals max, nose wheel weight over max allowed with pilot and full fuel.

If you haven't done your W&B recently you might think about it, it was "enlightening" Time to go on a diet I guess.

[g zero]

seems alot of things put on pounds with age !!!

[delusional]

I do a mental w&b on at least a weekly basis. It is enlightening, sort of... Lately it goes like this:
max tow 1750
wife n me 400 and I'm not breaking that down in any more detail...
full fuel 212

which, I think, leaves 1138 for aircraft with oil, bags, headsets, charts, cell phones, shoes, Raybans, clothes(required I guess), flashlight... I may need to drain some fuel just so i can squeeze in my socks or required pilot docs...

[Mel]

Originally Posted by Walt

Painted with Jet Glow, Leather seats and sidewall panels, installed an SD-8, upgraded to grove wheels/brakes with goodyear FC III tires, installed the autopilot pitch servo, installed 2nd SL 40 com, upgraded from SL70 to GX330, added the 696, installed an avionics coolng fan, installed HID landing lights, added the heavier weldon FI pump (converted from carb to AFP FI).
Total weight gain 68 lbs

Actually with what you've added, I'm surprised you didn't gain more. The leather interior and paint can easily come close to 68 lbs.

[brianwallis]

1 lb is the weight that the FAA says is your boundary, less than that... you are ok... more than that, you have to recalculate your W&B, I was tired of seeing so much inaccurate stuff out there... I bought my own set of certified scales. Dang that was expensive. The Saratoga that just landed on 85 South in Atlanta, just had an interior and glass package put in. I'm wondering if the pilot had an updated W&B.... I really don't think a pencil job for an interior and avionics really comes out very accurate. I could be wrong... and have been in the past. I'd like to compare my W&B to a pencil job for avnx and interior and see what the comparison is... As a matter of fact. I'll do one for free if anybody wants to see if their "pencil" W&B matches the real one.

Best
Brian