REFLECTOR: Weight and Balance Leveling

Tue Nov 11 12:22:28 CST 2008

I called and ordered one.  Strange there is no electronic version.

Laurence Coen wrote:
> Brian,
>
> It is available from Velocity.
>
> Larry Coen
> N136LC
>
> --------------------------------------------------
> From: "Brian Michalk" <michalk at awpi.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, November 11, 2008 9:08 AM
> To: "Velocity Aircraft Owners and Builders list" <reflector at tvbf.org>
> Subject: Re: REFLECTOR: Weight and Balance Levelling
>
>   
>> Where can I find the Velocity flight manual that has the weight and
>> balance procedure?
>>
>> Terry Miles wrote:
>>     
>>> Dear all,
>>> Here below was a piece I posted when I did my wgt and balance.  I hope it
>>> helps.  I am happy to talk further on this if somebody needs further 
>>> ideas.
>>> I used Ronnie Brown's program.
>>> Terry
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Dear All,
>>> I did my wgt and balance this week.  Here is the news and comments.
>>>
>>> First the news:  She came in at 1892.5 pounds and 136.7 aft of datum. I 
>>> am
>>> very happy with that.  Here are some particulars:
>>> 300 HP Lycoming which is another 60 pounds more than the 260 HP
>>> version.
>>> Two full sized batteries in the nose,
>>> All the seats, seat cushions, hooker seat belts, and the false fire
>>> wall in place.  No carpet or headliner or trim.
>>> A couple of headsets, and my backup handheld GPS and VHF/VOR ICOM
>>> and a small fire extinguisher.
>>> A final exterior paint job and some Zolatone on the gear legs, wheel
>>> wells and ceiling beams
>>>
>>> I used locally borrowed certified scales.
>>>
>>> Minor irregularity:  I thought the "Owners Flight Manual and Wgt & Bal" 
>>> book
>>> was nicely done and provided me with some approximate figures.  That gave 
>>> me
>>> a reasonableness crosscheck as I started to get my own numbers.  I take
>>> exception to one number in the Velo book on page 33 where it shows the 
>>> sump
>>> tank at 145 inches.  It is over 150 inches.  The reading comes from the 
>>> fact
>>> that the gas won't all drain into the sump so using gear wgt numbers on 
>>> the
>>> scales may not be the most accurate approach for this particular
>>> measurement.  Especially in the RG where the sump is only half the size 
>>> of
>>> the FG.  Be aware that with any two known numbers you can calculate the
>>> third.  I backed in my wheel numbers (moment)and used the known fuel 
>>> weight
>>> and the known arm.
>>>
>>> "Been There" Advice:
>>> I made the mistake of pouring all the first 20 gal into one tank
>>> thinking that it would level across wings in no time flat.  Wrong.  What 
>>> I
>>> did was introduce a heavy wing and small bank angle.  It would be better 
>>> to
>>> put the fuel in equally to each tank then wait a couple of minutes.  Pick 
>>> a
>>> slow time for the fuel truck man!  Then rocks the wings slightly.   Be 
>>> sure
>>> you are chocked.
>>> I didn't measure the distances from datum to various key points
>>> prior to putting the aircraft on the scales.  Points like wheel axel 
>>> points,
>>> aprox wgt centers for front seat, rear seat, spots you have earmarked for
>>> Jepp bags, door cubbyholes, you name it.  (Like what's the exact 
>>> measurement
>>> of the aft lower corner of the entry door?)  It is much harder to do this
>>> with the aircraft on scales.   All these can be done easier with a plumb 
>>> bob
>>> and marking spots on the hangar floor then record them all on a sheet of
>>> paper before you begin.  All this for a reasonableness crosscheck as you 
>>> do
>>> the measurements.  You will need to know all the other distances the day 
>>> you
>>> load the airplane for a trip to grandma's.  Good idea to get them now.
>>> Leveling:  My airplane as it sat empty on the hangar floor was nose
>>> high.  I should have thought to shim the main wheels with a pc of plywood 
>>> as
>>> I mounted the airplane on the scales.  I didn't.
>>> You can let air into or out of the tires within a range to get the
>>> pitch and bank level numbers you need.  A friend on hand suggested that 
>>> and
>>> it worked great, with this exception.  If you have the nose tire down to
>>> complete deflation as you add wgt the side walls will compress on you 
>>> some.
>>> The wgt change on the nose from empty to full is about 50 pounds.
>>> I did my fuel probe calibration at the same time to include marking
>>> my cabin sight gauges and a dip stick.  That's a lot going on at once. 
>>> Make
>>> yourself a checklist.  Or be ready with siphon pumps and barrel for
>>> oversights!
>>> Check BOTH tanks as you add fuel with the dowl stick from the
>>> hardware store.  I had a wing to wing wgt imbalance as the night went 
>>> along
>>> that didn't affect the CG, but was a puzzle to me until I realized I had 
>>> a
>>> small wing droop (gear flex?)  that didn't show up much on my centerline
>>> mounted digital level in the aft cabin.    For the XL: for me:   the dip
>>> stick for me came out at 1 inch equals 5 gallons or close enough from 
>>> empty
>>> to full.
>>>
>>> Terry
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: reflector-bounces at tvbf.org [mailto:reflector-bounces at tvbf.org] On
>>> Behalf Of Douglas Holub
>>> Sent: Monday, November 10, 2008 11:39 AM
>>> To: Velocity Aircraft Owners and Builders list
>>> Subject: Re: REFLECTOR: Weight and Balance Levelling
>>>
>>> Hi Brian,
>>>
>>> I'm planning on doing mine this week, too. I think I'll write down what 
>>> I'm
>>> planning to do just FYI, and also to help organize myself.
>>>
>>> My fuselage came with a fore-aft level line. When the work on the kit 
>>> began,
>>>
>>> little plastic bubble levels were epoxied to the fuselage to make it easy 
>>> to
>>>
>>> level the fuselage fore and aft. When it came time to prime the airplane,
>>> before I removed those little plastic levels I leveled the plane and 
>>> drilled
>>>
>>> two small 1/16" holes which were level and about 2 feet apart located 
>>> below
>>> the strake on the right side of the fuselage. Now when I want to level 
>>> the
>>> airplane, I stick two 1/6" drill bits in those holes and lay a 
>>> carpenter's
>>> level on them. (I got the idea from someone on the Reflector, but I 
>>> forget
>>> who.)
>>>
>>> I've already leveled the plane and used a tape measure and a plumb bob to
>>> find the arm of the nose wheel axle and the main gear axles. Mine is 34.5
>>> inches and 133.5 inches with the nose of the fuselage being zero.
>>>
>>> The W&B procedure in my Velocity Owner's Flight Manual says to weigh the
>>> airplane empty with no fuel in the sump. Makes sense to me. I'm mildly
>>> curious to know how the CG would be affected if I ever ran the sump dry.
>>> I've got a 6.5 gallon sump, so it probably makes more of a difference in 
>>> my
>>> case than in yours. I've got an old Jaguar with two selectable 12 gallon
>>> fuel tanks. We ran the car on one tank until it was dry. We'll drain the
>>> fuel currently in the Velocity into the Jaguar and a gas can and weigh 
>>> the
>>> plane when it's empty, then use a siphon hose and the gas can to put 6.5
>>> gallons of fuel back into the airplane and record those weights, then 
>>> fill
>>> the tanks up and record the weights again. I may also record the weights
>>> when the tanks are half full, because I think the fuel tank moment might
>>> change a little as the tanks are filling.
>>>
>>> The rest is easy.  While the plane is on the scales with no fuel on 
>>> board,
>>> I'll weigh my son and then sit him in the pilot's seat and record the
>>> weights, sit him in the co-pilot's seat (it is staggered about 2" back 
>>> from
>>> the pilot's seat) and record the weights, then put him in the back seat 
>>> and
>>> record the weights.
>>>
>>> Doug Holub
>>> Standard FG w/ electric nose lift
>>>
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>>> From: "Brian Michalk" <michalk at awpi.com>
>>> To: "Velocity Aircraft Owners and Builders list" <reflector at tvbf.org>
>>> Sent: Monday, November 10, 2008 9:44 AM
>>> Subject: REFLECTOR: Weight and Balance Levelling
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>       
>>>> I'm planning on doing my weight and balance this weekend.
>>>>
>>>> I have not brushed up on exactly what needs to be done for the process,
>>>> so I am starting here.
>>>>
>>>> 1)  I'm assuming I need to level the plane fore/aft.  What points do I
>>>> use for levelling?  left/right is easy.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> 2) I plan on measuring with full sump as baseline.  Add fuel in
>>>> increments.  Also do a W&B with pilots.  Of course all interior and
>>>> accessories are installed.  The plane is close to a "flying condition".
>>>>
>>>> 3) A buddy is bringing over his Cessna 210, and we're going to use that
>>>> for the fuel, and then return it after we are finished.  I have not yet
>>>> done fuel flow testing, and did not want to mess with a full load of
>>>> fuel in the plane.
>>>>
>>>> Any comments on procedure?
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>>>>         
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>>>       
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>>     
> _______________________________________________
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>
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>   