Originally Posted by
tdracer
PDR, one ton per engine, there are two (at least).
Ah. It seems the weight growth in the anecdote is accelerating faster than it did in the engines. So was the two ton ballast requirement per engine as well? 1 ton of weight growth sounds like rather a lot in a 2-1/2 ton engine...
Also, there is already a lot of stuff at the pointy end that can't be readily moved - hence when you start talking thousands of pounds of ballast you can't put it in the most efficient location.
Yes, those pesky baggage holds can be so difficult to put stuff in, can't they. The last aircraft I was involved with where this order of magnitude of CG error needed correcting the favoured proposal was ti increment the material thickness in the skins and stringers of the forward fuselage, which would have* solved the problem quite easily. It's not rocket surgery.
* I say "would have" because the project was cancelled for other reasons.