Scales.

Greg Bockelman said:
Are you guys using this info for general information or actual legal weight and balance info? How do you certify your scales?
Click to expand...
Used it to generate the new W&B info for the plane. There's no requirement for "certification." The FAA guidance just says you should accurately calibrate them. No "certification" required.
 
flyingron said:
Used it to generate the new W&B info for the plane. There's no requirement for "certification." The FAA guidance just says you should accurately calibrate them. No "certification" required.
Click to expand...
Except when it comes calibration requirements the only way you can prove it is calibrated is by its certificate of calibration to a known standard. Which in aviation is usually an ISO standard for weighing scales, torque wrenches, etc. While the guidance does tend be loose at times, in practice it tightens up quite a bit even in the Part 91 world. Its also the reason I rented scales due to the annual/semi-annual calibration costs.
 
I have mine checked by the State and Federal departments of weights and measures to be dead-on balls accurate (that's an industry term).
 
flyingron said:
I have mine checked by the State and Federal departments of weights and measures to be dead-on balls accurate (that's an industry term).
Click to expand...
As long as you have a piece of paper to prove it your good. Empty weight and balance is an aircraft certification item and if not done properly renders the AWC invalid.
 
Bell206 said:
As long as you have a piece of paper to prove it your good. Empty weight and balance is an aircraft certification item and if not done properly renders the AWC invalid.
Click to expand...
Not too sure who would issue such paper, but the standard way is to get calibrated weights (these are available here) and test your scales with them. THis is arguably more rigid that me calibrating my fuel guages with the markings on the side of the VP Fuels jugs everybody uses here.
 
flyingron said:
Not too sure who would issue such paper, but the standard way is to get calibrated weights (these are available here) and test your scales with them.
Click to expand...
It would actually fall to the mechanic who was signing off the new empty weight how he would handle that requirement. If he chose to forgo reviewing a certificate of calibration and used balance scales, he would own it and not the owner or the scale provider.
 
Bell206 said:
It would actually fall to the mechanic who was signing off the new empty weight how he would handle that requirement. If he chose to forgo reviewing a certificate of calibration and used balance scales, he would own it and not the owner or the scale provider.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure what point you are trying to make. Even the "for aviation" scales put the calibration procedure in the manual and it's up to the repair station/mechanic to determine he has performed it. I've not seen anything in any industry where you send your scales out for independent calibration. As I said, there are companies that rent calibrated known weights to allow people to test their own scales/equipment.
 
flyingron said:
I've not seen anything in any industry where you send your scales out for independent calibration.
Click to expand...
The established FAA guidance is the recalibration of aircraft weighing scales not to exceed 12 months and to be returned to the scale OEM or an ISO certified shop for calibration. At the CRS or 135/121 level they are required to have a tool calibration program listed in their approved manuals.

In my experience, never saw a calibration process listed in the manual of any aviation specific weighing equipment. The point being if you plan to establish a new certified empty weight/balance for your TC’d aircraft the scales need to be calibrated to the accepted ISO or similar standard.
 
flyingron said:
Not too sure who would issue such paper, but the standard way is to get calibrated weights (these are available here) and test your scales with them. THis is arguably more rigid that me calibrating my fuel guages with the markings on the side of the VP Fuels jugs everybody uses here.
Click to expand...
So you calibrate your scale with VP jugs of fuel dispensed by a calibrated pump so there's a traceability chain... :biggrin:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top