Taking Weights

cocolos

cocolos

Pre-takeoff checklist
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cocolos
How do you ask for people's weight? Some people feel uncomfortable giving such information out.
 
cocolos said:
How do you ask for people's weight? Some people feel uncomfortable giving such information out.
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The aircraft has a weight limit above which it is unsafe to fly so I need your exact weight. You can whisper it to me if you want...

(get good at guessing weights)

There are some other techniques such as knowing max allowables that can work. Working with a W&B spreadsheet can help you understand when to be concerned.
 
cocolos said:
How do you ask for people's weight? Some people feel uncomfortable giving such information out.
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If they bring baggage weigh them with it or ask then to weigh the combination at home and supply you with the total while stressing the safety consequences of excess weight. That way a weight conscious person needn't provide their embarrassing personal information yet can still give an accurate number. You still need individual weights for CG but your own estimated allocation between bags and body should suffice for that. Of course this won't work so well with a 250 pounder bringing nothing besides a 10 lb fanny pack but I've found it often works pretty well.
 
Tell them they can be uncomfortable and not fly, lie and be dead, or just be honest with the pilot and have a safe flight.

If they don't like their weight, they can hit the gym later after the flight.
 
What do you weigh?

After flying for a while you start to get good at guessing it.


Or.. you could try to pick them up and guess that way :)
 
denverpilot said:
Tell them they can be uncomfortable and not fly, lie and be dead, or just be honest with the pilot and have a safe flight.

If they don't like their weight, they can hit the gym later after the flight.
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That's how I do it. I'm upfront about it. If they don't want to tell me their actual weight, I tell them I'm canceling the flight. I do assure them it is safety imperative and won't become known to any other soul. There have also been times where the weights were near MTOW, and I had them step on the scale in the FBO.
 
Oh, I don't cancel. My flight time is therapy. Heh. I just leave their butts on the ground. ;)

(Honestly it's never happened yet. That irrational fear of flying things the media builds has one useful purpose... when the pilot says its a safety of flight issue and let's the person tell them privately, they usually don't lie. Heh. "Flaming death from the sky" is usually not on their agenda for the day.) ;)
 
"The aircraft has a weight restriction - so I need to know how much you weigh."

Usually only a problem with ladies.

"You can tell me privately and I promise if I tell anyone, it will be at least 20 pounds lighter. However with me, I need you to be accurate. If I don't believe you, I'll have to pull out the scale and you'll have to step on it in front of everyone."

Or, give then an upper bound - as long as you're not over 210 lbs, we're ok.
 
I have used a w&b calculator where I asked them to put their weight in the box push the submit button then erase their weight. Even though I can easily see the weight on the graph it has so far escaped any detection by the passengers. The advantage is that I have been able to estimate weights better.
 
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It seems like a pretty simple question, "The plane can only carry so much. It's nothing personal, but how much do you weigh?"

I normally use the easier method that was mentioned by Brian, "You don't weigh over 240 (or whatever), do you?"
 
Grab a weight & balance form and a pencil. Talking out loud to yourself, say, "x gallons of fuel at 6 pounds equals xxx, front pilot weight, hmm, passenger weight...?" Look up inquiringly.
 
just start yelling "No Fat Chicks" as soon as they get out of their car.
 
bflynn said:
Or, give then an upper bound - as long as you're not over 210 lbs, we're ok.
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This is what I do. My CFI claims he's 240 and we're good with full fuel so I say "Are you more or less then 240?" Lot of ladies are like "Oh you're so nice...I'm 180." *let's go then*
 
Safety trumps comfort. Ask, and don't be afraid to deny the flight if the passenger is not forthcoming. Even if it will **** them off.

It's a good idea to offer secrecy and point out that it's a safety of flight issue, as has been pointed out.
 
NineThreeKilo said:
What do you weigh?

After flying for a while you start to get good at guessing it.


Or.. you could try to pick them up and guess that way :)
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I'd just guess BUT my usual loading issue is not a gross weight issue, its an Aft CG issue.

If I screw up and we are a couple pounds over gross, well we are a few pounds over gross. If we are an inch or two past Aft CG, it will affect the stability of the aircraft in a very negative way. At best it will be very hard to trim for holding altitude.
 
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I figure my gross and how much I can carry in the front and rear seats and the baggage area, after my own bulk, and still be within CG limits. So far I've only carried one passenger at a time, but that may change shortly. I just tell them, "Here's how much weight I can carry in the front and rear seats. Anything over that much is unsafe. Neither you nor I want to try to fly in an airplane that's unsafe, so if you AND your clothing AND your baggage are at or over that limit -- let me know now."

Then I allow a few pounds for wishful thinking.
 
Just ask, its part of the deal. Just don't blurt out "Oh Jeez!" after they tell you. ha You try not to raise your eyebrows while lipping a swear word:wink2:
 
Unless you see them modeling clothes on TV, all women weigh at least 140 plus sack and bags. Men weigh 200.
 
wabower said:
Unless you see them modeling clothes on TV, all women weigh at least 140 plus sack and bags. Men weigh 200.
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Nice lower limits. This is America (well, for most of us; but Canada is only slightly better in this regard).

For W&B, you need both lower and upper limits, at a minimum. But frankly, if you don't get a reasonably accurate weight, you're letting your passengers set safety standards for you, based on non-flight parameters. That's poor ADM.

200/140 is a bad approximation for most Americans.
 
Guess and tell them. Guess high !
 
MAKG1 said:
Nice lower limits. This is America (well, for most of us; but Canada is only slightly better in this regard).

For W&B, you need both lower and upper limits, at a minimum. But frankly, if you don't get a reasonably accurate weight, you're letting your passengers set safety standards for you, based on non-flight parameters. That's poor ADM.

200/140 is a bad approximation for most Americans.
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That's only assuming you trust your passengers to divulge accurate information in the first place! :lol:

I wonder if the NTSB will start weighing people :confused:
 
jollyroger said:
I wonder if the NTSB will start weighing people :confused:
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They do - using whatever may be on your last medical or driver's license.

This accident happened at my home airport -

>>
Department of Motor Vehicle records indicate the pilot and passenger weights as follows:

Left front pilot seat (seat 1): 200 lbs
Right front pilot seat (seat 2): 180 lbs
First row left passenger seat (seat 3): 200 lbs
First row right passenger seat (seat 4): 145 lbs
Second row right passenger seat (seat 5): 240 lbs

Recovered baggage weight was 314.5 lbs.
<<

http://dms.ntsb.gov/aviation/AccidentReports/4e1i5f45ktl2iajulpqazn451/Y11072012120000.pdf
 
DMV will take whatever weight you give them. Not a good idea.

I have my pax step on the scale in private with only them and me looking. I give them my word that I will never divulge the number (I usually forget anyway and have to weigh them again if we fly a few weeks later).

I then (and this is important) say "Thank you", smile and work the math nearby where they are aware of what I'm doing. I do the baggage myself.
 
my concern is usually light weight instead of heavy. there is a minimum that i can take for a front seat glider passenger, below that we're out of CG range. I usually just explain that i need to know their weight and if they want to whisper it in my ear that is fine.
 
I don't go to the lengths as Jam Master Jaybird, but I'll get the numbers down if I'm carrying four adults.
 
I've flown at MTOW in a 160hp Skyhawk from 2420' runway (uphill) in the summer, high DA.
 
You can always tell them if they don't give up the info, and they throw off the W&B, they may have to jump out. Of course, after reaching an area that you can throw things from the airplane without destroying any property or persons.
 
wabower said:
Unless you see them modeling clothes on TV, all women weigh at least 140 plus sack and bags. Men weigh 200.
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With my own plane I'm good to 200lbs per seat, so it's not a issue for me as I dont really have any fat friends (not a fan of fat follks) and the few fatties that I know are too lazy come out for free airplane ride anyway (why leave your TV and Mt Dew right?).

And the comment on most women weighing 140, whole chit balls batman!

Yea the average american heffer is probably north of that.
 
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And the resulting passenger weights used on their W&B templates were raised as a result.

weilke said:
They did start weighing pax on 19 seaters for a while after a W&B related accident.
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Trust, but Verify. The bathroom scale is just where you have to step to get into the aircraft....Wayne has seen me do it...."gotta step there....!"
 
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wabower said:
Unless you see them modeling clothes on TV, all women weigh at least 140 plus sack and bags. Men weigh 200.
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I've always enjoyed the "wiggle" room I have when flight planning on the edges of the weight envelope. Christopher does his part as well! :D


ja_user said:
just start yelling "No Fat Chicks" as soon as they get out of their car.
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LOL. :thumbsup:
 
Asking for weights is always good for a laugh. Very often i will get told "180" let's say. I follow that up with "with clothes on"? Usually the answer is "naked"... The follow up question of course is to inquire if they intend to fly naked (with a straight face possibly a concerned expression)... Happens almost every time. Yes, childish I know. :)
 
If it's a 172 or 150 I'll push down on the tail to demonstrate how significant center of gravity is (people seem to be less shy about their weight when it's for CG and not purely for "how heavy are you?" -- at least in my experience).

If they don't give me a straight answer (or a realistic one) they don't ride along. Just my own personal stance. =)
 
Gubbins said:
Asking for weights is always good for a laugh. Very often i will get told "180" let's say. I follow that up with "with clothes on"? Usually the answer is "naked"... The follow up question of course is to inquire if they intend to fly naked (with a straight face possibly a concerned expression)... Happens almost every time. Yes, childish I know. :)
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Hmm I should do this and follow up their response with "Then start stripping" :D
 
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