Where is Weight and Balance requirement in FAR's

[Zero1Niner]

Where on earth in the FAR's is the requirement to have the weight and balance (AROW) information in the airplane?

 

[WildcatPilot]

I'd guess maybe the reg saying that you must be familiar with all aspects of the flight. That's kind of a blanket statement that would certainly include AROW. I'm not sure if that's the correct reg though.

 

[Zero1Niner]

Hmm...could fall under that catchall I suppose, but for some reason I doubt it.

Closest thing I could find is:

§ 91.9 Civil aircraft flight manual, marking, and placard requirements.

(a) Except as provided in paragraph (d) of this section, no person may operate a civil aircraft without complying with the operating limitations specified in the approved Airplane or Rotorcraft Flight Manual, markings, and placards, or as otherwise prescribed by the certificating authority of the country of registry.



What I find so curious is that the mnemonic specifically calls for 'Weight and balance'.

 

[tgrayson]

Where on earth in the FAR's is the requirement to have the weight and balance (AROW) information in the airplane?

There is no blanket requirement in the regs that this information be carried aboard the airplane. However, under the section "AIRPLANE FLIGHT MANUAL AND APPROVED MANUAL MATERIAL"

§ 23.1589 Loading information.
The following loading information must be furnished:
(a) The weight and location of each item of equipment that can be easily removed, relocated, or replaced and that is installed when the airplane was weighed under the requirement of § 23.25.
(b) Appropriate loading instructions for each possible loading condition between the maximum and minimum weights established under § 23.25, to facilitate the center of gravity remaining within the limits established under
§ 23.23.

Combine the above with 14 CFR 21.5, which says

21.5 Airplane or Rotorcraft Flight Manual.
(a) With each airplane or rotorcraft that was not type certificated with an
Airplane or Rotorcraft Flight Manual and that has had no flight time prior to
March 1, 1979, the holder of a Type Certificate (including a Supplemental
Type Certificate) or the licensee of a Type Certificate shall make available to the owner at the time of delivery of the aircraft a current approved Airplane or Rotorcraft Flight Manual.


and combine that with 14 CFR 91.1 which says

§ 91.9 Civil aircraft flight manual, marking, and placard requirements.
(a) Except as provided in paragraph (d) of this section, no person may operate a civil aircraft without complying with the operating limitations specified in the approved Airplane or Rotorcraft Flight Manual, markings, and placards, or as otherwise prescribed by the certificating authority of the country of registry.
(b) No person may operate a U.S.-registered civil aircraft—
(1) For which an Airplane or Rotorcraft Flight Manual is required by § 21.5
of this chapter unless there is available in the aircraft a current, approved Airplane or Rotorcraft Flight Manual or the manual provided for in § 21.141(b);

All of the above applies to aircraft with no flight time prior to March 1, 1979. Prior to that, some aircraft had as part of their type certificate that current weight and balance information be carried aboard the aircraft, or had a requirement for an AFM.

 

[MidlifeFlyer]

Folllowing up on and pretty much similar to tgrayson, this is a FAQ I once put together but neveer posted on my web site:

You won't find a specific regulation that says that the weight and balance numbers must be on board. I've seen the issue bandied about some on various forums. I'll offer the collected wisdom (?) of those discussions.

There are two primary sources of the requirement.


1. If you remember your 91.213 airworthiness analysis, ultimately, whether a piece of equipment is required or not is based on the airplane's Type Certificate Data Sheet . In some cases, not all, the TCDS contains language like:
==============================
Current weight and balance report including list of equipment included in certificated weight empty, and loading instructions when necessary, must be in each aircraft at the time of original certification and at all time thereafter...
==============================
So, the presence of the weight and balance data is as much an airworthiness requirement as operating fuel gauges.

But not all aircraft have this requirement on the TCDS.

2. 91.9(b) contains the requirement for the presence of systems information on board. (The reference to 21.5 is a reference to the requirement for an approved manual (AFM) after 1979)

23.1581 - 23.1589 talk about what the contents of an approved AFM manual must contain. 23.1589 says:
==============================
Loading information.
The following loading information must be furnished:
(a) The weight and location of each item of equipment that can be easily removed, relocated, or replaced and that is installed when the airplane was weighed under the requirement of § 23.25.
(b) Appropriate loading instructions for each possible loading condition between the maximum and minimum weights established under § 23.25, to facilitate the center of gravity remaining within the limits established under § 23.23.[/quote]
==============================

Read them together and you get, an airplane must have its manual on board and it's manual must contain weight and balance data.

I think that there are some airplanes that still slip through the cracks but, like a lot of shorthand expressions for learning things, aroW covers the general rule. There are always exceptions.

 

[coldpilot]

91.103(b) preflight action alludes to it as well.

§ 91.103 Preflight action.

(b) For any flight, runway lengths at airports of intended use, and the following takeoff and landing distance information:

(1) For civil aircraft for which an approved Airplane or Rotorcraft Flight Manual containing takeoff and landing distance data is required, the takeoff and landing distance data contained therein; and

(2) For civil aircraft other than those specified in paragraph (b)(1) of this section, other reliable information appropriate to the aircraft, relating to aircraft performance under expected values of airport elevation and runway slope, aircraft gross weight, and wind and temperature.

Take a look at your AFM. Any performance information is derived from the appropriate weight and balance information. Aircraft performance is always going to be affected by the weight and CG of the aircraft. Also while you are digging through the AFM performance section read through the instructions and work out the sample problems. A lot of students skip over this section but following the manufacturers instructions is always going to be your best POA.

 

[tgrayson]

91.103(b) preflight action alludes to it as well.

Not really. That's just what you need to become familiar with, not what you must carry aboard the airplane.

 

[taseal]

91.103(b) preflight action alludes to it as well.



Take a look at your AFM. Any performance information is derived from the appropriate weight and balance information. Aircraft performance is always going to be affected by the weight and CG of the aircraft. Also while you are digging through the AFM performance section read through the instructions and work out the sample problems. A lot of students skip over this section but following the manufacturers instructions is always going to be your best POA.

not really. just assume MLW and work ur problem from there. I know if the runway is 5000 feet and my cessna can do it in 2500 at MLW, i don't need to do it.

 

[coldpilot]

not really. just assume MLW and work ur problem from there. I know if the runway is 5000 feet and my cessna can do it in 2500 at MLW, i don't need to do it.

Then when something happens and you didn't CYA the feds will try to burn you anyway they can. In aviation CYA is the name of the game.

It's sad that people get lazy and just don't want to take 5 minutes to do a simple W&B. Let's also talk about the principal of primacy. If we teach students to be lazy by not doing W&B problems they may lack the necessary skills to complete one long after the checkride and overload the aircraft outside of its performance capabilities.

If the original poster is just looking for a reference showing that a W&B calculation is required for every flight per the FARs there are many regs out there that can beat around the bush with it. Good luck finding what you need. A lot of good advice has been put up on this thread.