Originally Posted by
FrequentSLF
Why the weight is estimated? There is no indication of the real weight of the aircraft?
Thanks
Mainly because experience has shown that estimated weights, averaged across passengers (with the adjustments people have mentioned for time of year and so on), are accurate enough. Bear in mind that there's always an element of conservatism in the way the aircraft performance is calculated, and the standard 'weight and balance' process accuracy is consistent with the methods used.
To accurately measure the aircraft weight would require additional sensors on the aircraft (there are some aircraft, mainly cargo types, with this feature) and that adds cost and the chance of that system breaking or being in error. So there's no real benefit to such systems.