Flying Heavy

No, I don't mean a flight after having one too many $100 burgers; I'm talking about flying at max gross weight. This is an old post I wrote not long after I got my license when I took a C172 for a flight loaded to the guilles. Now, this isn't a very big challenge for the competent, prepared pilot, but I wanted to share my experience.

The day started nicely and I felt the urge to hit the runways and take advantage of the wonderful weather. A friend of mine hadn't been up since he was a little kid and he happened to be free, so I called him and plans were set for us to go wheels up at 2 o'clock. As is normal, the flight began to take shape in my mind as soon as I knew we were going.

I remembered my friend happened to be a big fella, so I off-handedly asked him his weight. "No prob, just want to be able to show Jim the weight and balance if he asks", I ended the conversation. Jim had been my CFI and was sure to be at the airport, but he wouldn't ask for my weight and balance; I had better reasons for asking. I decided against letting him know that a quick calculation in my head had me thinking our plane might be out of the CG envelope. As PIC, it was my problem and I would deal with it.

POH in hand, I did the exact calculations. We were in weight (with reduced fuel), yet we were out of CG limits by a hair. Some pilots faced with this situation assume it'll all be fine; some have paid the ultimate price for those assumptions. I, as I had been taught, took another look. If the CG is forward of the forward limit (as it was in my initial calcs), the plane's nose would be heavy and I'd have trouble rotating on takeoff as well as flaring on the landing. This is where a little ingenuity came into hand. After several hand-scratched calculations, I discovered that if I sacrificed 25 lbs of fuel and added something that weighed 25 lbs to the aft baggage compartment, we were comfortably within the load/moment envelope.

I quickly loaded my flight bag with every aviation book I had and ran to the bathroom scale. 14.5 lbs, it read; I added two 5 lb weights from my room and we were off.

I non-chalantly slipped the bag in the aft compartment. My friend never knew; a courtesy any good pilot would have thought of. We took off and I was thrown into another thrilling flight. It was a hot day so my climb rate was dismal. It was the first time I'd been up with someone who wasn't use to flying, so I stayed in the pattern and landed again to "warm up a little"; code for "give you a small taste so if you get sick or scared I'm not stuck in the air with you for more than a few minutes". He looked fine and we were off.

I got engrossed in giving a tour of the area pointing west "There's Stone Mountain and over there's Atlanta". At the same time, I was noticing the subtle differences in my old friend (the plane, not the passenger) as we flew. It wasn't the first time I'd flown at max gross; in fact, I flew the cross-country to the airport where I was to take my checkride at max gross. I just wasn't used to it and, always looking to grow as a pilot, wanted to get to know max gross a little better. The main differences had been, as I expected, in taxiing, takeoff roll, approach and landing.

As I headed towards Lake Lanier for a scenic stretch, I noticed my passenger had suddenly developed motion sickness and I eased back to the airport. I surprised myself with both my piloting and people skills. It was amazing. I anticipated the extra pull in the flare I thought I needed (though in the load envelope, the CG was more forward) and I greased it; easing my passenger's stomache and ending a wonderfully educational flight.

I felt bad for my friend, he'd had fun but he was slightly green. As we sat at the airport waiting for him to regain composure, I felt more confident and capable as a pilot. I had started the flight confident that I could handle it or I'd never have gone, but pulling it off so neatly and smoothly -- with the known problems and the ones that surprised me -- added to my confidence.

I remember that day well.  It was one of the first times in my life as a pilot that I'd felt the pride and confidence of having taken on a challenge and over-come it.