Why are manufacturers so coy about o.w.e.?
I was looking back at some old books and magazines and had no trouble finding a published figure for operating weight empty or basic operating weight for most aircraft types. This seems to be very difficult to find these days - I've managted to find a few references on websites. Why is this? I can think of three possible reasons:
- Manufacturers may be not wish to publish figures as they are concerned about not meeting targets and the consequential contractual liabilities.
- The weight may change (hopefully reduce) during the life of the product
- The weight of airline specified cabin fittings may vary so much that it makes a single published figure meaningless
There may be other reasons I haven't thought of. Does anyone have any thoughts.
If it is not confidential could people let me have figures for recent types if possible stating airline.