Right then, let's see how many takers this one gets...
Firstly, to paint the picture; consider the lower half of the GA market (piston twins, smaller twin turboprops, etc) flying on low-end corporate/air taxi/aerial survey/organ transportation/medivac type missions. That sort of thing.
The question; is flying aircraft in exceedance of their certified weight limits an accepted reality of such flying?
I've always been firmly of the view that limits are not to be exceeded. Very early in my career a manager
(not mine) told me that "flying overweight aircraft is the brutal reality of [GA] ops", particularly within the particular sector of GA he worked in. Luckily, for the last fews years I've been flying in a role with a great deal of autonomy and discretion. I plan & load in a way with which I am comfortable, the client is fully onside and has no beef, Management are none the wiser - although I suspect that they'd be far happier if I scrutinised the W&B numbers less. The urge to be discreet in how I plan my flights is strong!
One of my colleagues recently confided in me that he felt overweight ops were the norm and perhaps it could be the only commercially viable way to operate some aircraft. So, am I being too stuffy?
What is the truth? Is it an unspoken reality that folks just get one with? Or are there just a few cowboys out there propagating the 'if we don't then someone else will' myth? I suspect it's somewhere in between; some companies do, some don't. Some pilots will, some won't. (Not that those that do will 'fess up here necessarily; perhaps the old "I once knew someone who..." might work.)
All thoughts shared will be appreciated.