Good point about take-off distance.
The first (in fact, only) time I put 4 people in a Warrior, I did a W&B calculation, and figured out how much (or should I say how little) fuel I could take to be within max gross weight. I was happy with that, and just about to put the manuals back, when I figured I may as well do the performance calculations "since I've got the manuals handy - it's good practice, and I haven't done one since my PPL skills test." I was shocked to find that I'd be going off the end of the runway taking off at Compton Abbas! Definitely do those performance calculations!
While I was trying to figure out how to get out of Compton Abbas (without the extra acceleration provided by the down-slope a few yards off the end of the runway!) I discovered that the CAA suppliment to the PA28-161 POH contains figures for a standard, no-flaps take-off, but
not for a short-field take-off. Don't know if other manuals are the same, but my instructor recommended the following:
In the main manual are the performance figures which Piper published, which the CAA have decided we're not allowed to use. But Piper's figures are far more thorough - they include take-off charts for a no-flaps take-off,
and for a short-field take-off. Find out from these graphs the percentage reduction in take-off distance using the short-field technique, then apply this percentage reduction to the numbers you get out of the CAA's graphs. It seemed to work, because we got off the ground shortly before the start of the down-slope!
FFF. .-----------