Cans of beer = 737 too heavy to takeoff?
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Cans of beer = 737 too heavy to takeoff?
Onboard an easyJet flight the other day from NCL to PMI. After we got airbourne the Crew announced over the PA system that all cans of beer had been removed from the aircraft as it was too heavy to take off with them on. (we only have spirits onboard).
Anyway after ordering a large quantity of Brandy and Lemonade and being drunk it finally clicked that can a few cans of beer stop a 737-700 gettin off the ground?
Can anyone help me on that one?, was it a load of bo*locks?
OH and by the way "The APU was broken" Was that removed too? ha ha
Anyway after ordering a large quantity of Brandy and Lemonade and being drunk it finally clicked that can a few cans of beer stop a 737-700 gettin off the ground?
Can anyone help me on that one?, was it a load of bo*locks?
OH and by the way "The APU was broken" Was that removed too? ha ha
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It is quite usual for part or all of the catering to be removed as the first resort if the aircraft is over maximum zero fuel weight or max takeoff weight. This is usually considered more desirable than off loading bags or passengers. So what they say is very feasible.
Reminds me of the occasion when I flew a 737-200 from Tontouta airport in New Caledonia, to Wallis Island just west of Samoa. We had a full flight with a take off weight (so we thought) of 53 tonnes (max structural). At cruise altitude of 31,000 ft we repeatedly lost 10-15 knots IAS and needed much higher thrust than was in the tables in order to hold Mach 0.73.
Wallis islanders are big people like the Tongans (they were people eaters back in the bad old days in the South Pacific), and the manifest given to us by the UTA agents had males at 77 kgs and females 67 kgs standard weights. After a while we twigged that the documented ZFW was a long way out.
On arrival at Wallis we arranged for everyone to step on a set of scales as they left the aircraft. The first huge lady almost broke the scales at 140 kgs plus 30 kgs hand luggage. There followed a couple of hefty chaps each around 135 kgs plus 25 kgs plus of hand baggage. There was hardly anyone less than 100 kgs in the whole crowd and the hand baggage didn't help.
After all the weighing was completed, we calculated that the ZFW on departure at Tontouta was over 1.6 tonnes heavier than documented. Needless to say for future island flights we demanded each passenger and hand baggage be weighed individually
Wallis islanders are big people like the Tongans (they were people eaters back in the bad old days in the South Pacific), and the manifest given to us by the UTA agents had males at 77 kgs and females 67 kgs standard weights. After a while we twigged that the documented ZFW was a long way out.
On arrival at Wallis we arranged for everyone to step on a set of scales as they left the aircraft. The first huge lady almost broke the scales at 140 kgs plus 30 kgs hand luggage. There followed a couple of hefty chaps each around 135 kgs plus 25 kgs plus of hand baggage. There was hardly anyone less than 100 kgs in the whole crowd and the hand baggage didn't help.
After all the weighing was completed, we calculated that the ZFW on departure at Tontouta was over 1.6 tonnes heavier than documented. Needless to say for future island flights we demanded each passenger and hand baggage be weighed individually
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Surely it's a wind-up. That flight should have been about 7½ tonnes below MTOW for that sector, and the 2332m runway at Newcastle with the smallest engines and a hot day should have allowed very close to MTOW takeoff.
If the plane was completely full of pax, it should still have been 2.7 tonnes below ZFW, leaving weight for 7,000 cans of beer; almost enough for a Glasgow-London flight.
What am I missing? Was it carrying fuel for the return flight as well? Is it April 1st? Was NCL runway partly closed?
If the plane was completely full of pax, it should still have been 2.7 tonnes below ZFW, leaving weight for 7,000 cans of beer; almost enough for a Glasgow-London flight.
What am I missing? Was it carrying fuel for the return flight as well? Is it April 1st? Was NCL runway partly closed?
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I must say that I have never seen a -700 exceed max zero fuel weight, but if it was a -300 it is very possible. For example :
Typical easyJet -300 : MZFW = 47627kg
DOW = 33375kg
Allowable traffic load = 14252kg
Say a full flight, heavy on males :
90 Males @ 93 kg = 8370kg
59 Females @ 75kg = 4425kg
120 Bags @13kg = 1560kg
Total = 14355kg
So it can and does happen, although infrequently.
Typical easyJet -300 : MZFW = 47627kg
DOW = 33375kg
Allowable traffic load = 14252kg
Say a full flight, heavy on males :
90 Males @ 93 kg = 8370kg
59 Females @ 75kg = 4425kg
120 Bags @13kg = 1560kg
Total = 14355kg
So it can and does happen, although infrequently.
