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Old 27th Apr 2004, 14:35
  #99 (permalink)  
Flip Flop Flyer
 
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Weight & Balance

I've played around a bit with our W&B system. We don't have the 340 in the system, so I selected an MD11 which is of comparable size.

Anyway, I introduced "dummy" weights to balance the aircraft and then "played" around with the bulk (Hold 5) load. If H5 was loaded to maximum (3400KG), with all other parameters static, the ZFW MAC would be 21.13%. With 3 tons less, i.e. 400 kg in H5, the ZFW MAC was reduced to 15.92% - a quite remarkable difference as anyone even vaguely familiar with W&B will tell you. And obviously, the stab. trim settings will be quite different on a 21% vs. a 16% MAC. I am assuming that even a fully electric Airbus still need to have the stab. trim set manually for take-off. Correct me if I'm wrong.

While it has been stated that an additional 3 tons might not have any great impact on performance, it will have a very measureable effect on the trim if loaded at the far end of the aircraft.

Just an observation mind you, nothing more or less.
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