When a technician gets involved with the weight and balance of an aircraft, it almost always involves a calculation of the aircraft’s empty weight and empty weight center of gravity. Only on rare occasions will the technician be involved in calculating extreme conditions, how much ballast is needed, or the loaded weight and balance of the aircraft. Calculating the empty weight and empty weight CG might involve putting the aircraft on scales and weighing it, or a pencil and paper exercise after installing a new piece of equipment.
The FAA requires that a current and accurate empty weight and empty weight center of gravity be known for an aircraft. This information must be included in the weight and balance report, which is a part of the aircraft permanent records. The weight and balance report must be in the aircraft when it is being flown.
There is no required format for this report, but Figure 4-41 is a good example of recording the data obtained from weighing an aircraft. As it is currently laid out, the form would accommodate either a tricycle gear or tail dragger airplane. Depending on the gear type, either the nose or the tail row would be used. If an airplane is being weighed using jacks and load cells, or if a helicopter is being weighed, the item names must be changed to reflect the weight locations.
If an equipment change is being done on an aircraft, and the new weight and balance is calculated mathematically instead of weighing the aircraft, the same type of form shown in Figure 4-41 can be used. The only change would be the use of a four column solution, instead of six columns, and there would be no tare weight or involvement with fuel and oil.