Weight & Balance Calculator

Calculate total weight, center of gravity, and moments for aircraft loading. Verify CG is within the envelope before every flight.

Aircraft Empty Weight

Empty Weight Arm

Pilot & Front Passenger

Front Seats Arm

Rear Passengers (Row 2)

Rear Seats Arm

Fuel

gal

C172: 40–53 gal, C182: 65–87 gal

Fuel Tank Arm

Baggage / Cargo

Baggage Arm

Max Gross Weight

C172: 2,550 lb, C182: 3,100 lb, PA-28: 2,440 lb

Tab to move between fields

Total Takeoff Weight

1,958 lb

≈ 11 adults

Center of Gravity (CG)

73.1 in

≈ 12 smartphones

CG Status

AFT of Limit

Total Moment143,114 lb·in

Fuel Weight288 lb

Useful Load1,050 lb

Remaining Payload (after fuel)762 lb

Excess Weight0 lb

How to Use This Calculator

Enter your aircraft's empty weight and arm from the W&B sheet (found in the POH).
Enter weights for pilot, passengers, fuel, and baggage.
Enter the arm (station) for each loading station from the POH loading diagram.
Verify the CG is within limits and total weight doesn't exceed max gross.

How the result changes with Aircraft Empty Weight

Aircraft Empty Weight	Total Takeoff Weight	Center of Gravity (CG)	CG Status
1,500	2,018 lb	72.8 in	AFT of Limit
1,500	2,400 lb	72 in	AFT of Limit
1,500	2,738 lb	70.7 in	AFT of Limit

Aircraft Empty Weight: Basic empty weight from your aircraft's weight and balance sheet (includes unusable fuel and oil).
Empty Weight Arm: CG arm (station) for empty weight from W&B sheet.
Pilot & Front Passenger: Combined weight of pilot and front seat passenger.
Front Seats Arm: Arm (station) for front seats from POH loading diagram.
Rear Passengers (Row 2): Combined weight of rear seat passengers.
Rear Seats Arm: Arm for rear seats from POH.
Additional Passengers (Row 3): Weight in a third row if applicable. Set to 0 for 4-seat aircraft.
Row 3 Arm: Arm for third row seats.
Fuel: Usable fuel in gallons. Avgas weighs 6.0 lb/gal; Jet-A weighs 6.7 lb/gal.
Fuel Tank Arm: Arm for fuel tanks from POH.
Baggage / Cargo: Weight of baggage and cargo. Check POH for baggage compartment weight limits.
Baggage Arm: Arm for baggage compartment from POH.
Max Gross Weight: Maximum takeoff weight from POH. C172S = 2,550 lb, C182T = 3,100 lb.
Forward CG Limit: Forward CG limit from POH W&B envelope.
Aft CG Limit: Aft CG limit from POH W&B envelope.

Total Takeoff Weight: Sum of all weights. Must not exceed max gross weight.
Center of Gravity (CG): CG position aft of datum. Must be within forward and aft limits.
CG Status: Whether CG is within the allowable envelope.
Useful Load: Max gross weight minus empty weight — the total you can carry (people + fuel + cargo).
Remaining Payload (after fuel): How much people + cargo weight you can still add after fuel.
Excess Weight: How much over max gross weight (0 if within limits).

Fuel Weight
Fuel Weight = Gallons × 6 lb/gal (avgas)
48 × 6 = 288 lb
Total Weight
Total = Empty + Pilot + Pax + Rear + Fuel + Baggage
1500 + 170 + 0 + 0 + 288 + 0 = 1,958 lb
Total Moment
Moment = Σ (Weight × Arm) for each station
123,000 + 6,290 + 0 + 0 + 13,824 + 0 = 143,114 lb·in
Center of Gravity (CG)
CG = Total Moment ÷ Total Weight
143,114 ÷ 1,958 = 73.1 inches aft of datum