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Asked to move to keep the plane's weight balanced??

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Asked to move to keep the plane's weight balanced??

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Old Jun 10, 2017, 10:00 am
  #16  
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Originally Posted by slawecki
a long time ago, we were flying out of BVI on a small, 4 engine plane that i cannot find.
Prop or jet? Jet is likely the Avro/BAe146, the smallest quad engine I can think of though that boards from the front. Rear boarding is common on the ATR props but those are twin engine, not quads.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Aerospace_146
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATR_42
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Old Jun 10, 2017, 10:03 am
  #17  
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plane had 4 Lycoming engines.
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Old Jun 10, 2017, 11:40 am
  #18  
 
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CRJ-200's are probably the worst when it comes to W&B issues. They are almost always nose heavy, so the answer is to move people to the back. Cargo helps too, but when people don't have enough checked or valet bags there has to either be weight added to the cargo or sometimes it's easier and quicker to ask for someone from the front to go to the back. Fuel loading plays a factor as well. The higher the fuel load the CG will move aft as well. But on short flights they won't carry as much fuel.
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Old Jun 10, 2017, 12:51 pm
  #19  
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I've been moved back to front once--**very** light load and they misloaded our cargo. They moved us all up into the premium seats and headed out--but turned back before takeoff because the numbers said it wasn't enough. They loaded a weight into the cargo bay and off we flew. Typical 6-across plane, I forget what type.
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Old Jun 10, 2017, 1:12 pm
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The CRJ and E145 have only one cargo compartment and it is in the tail. This doesn't give any of the loading flexibility that is available on airplanes with both forward and aft under-floor cargo bins. All cargo, checked, and carry-on bags must go in the aft cargo compartment leaving nothing left to adjust but the passenger's seating.
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Old Jun 10, 2017, 3:30 pm
  #21  
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Originally Posted by Loren Pechtel
I've been moved back to front once--**very** light load and they misloaded our cargo. They moved us all up into the premium seats and headed out--but turned back before takeoff because the numbers said it wasn't enough. They loaded a weight into the cargo bay and off we flew. Typical 6-across plane, I forget what type.
The only 6-across plane with tail-mounted engines I can think of is the 727. (It must have been tail-mounted because that's the only time a very light load requires moving everyone up front as a 737 or like would be front-heavy if everyone sat up front)

That happened to me one time as well on an AA MD-80... very light load and they moved everyone up front.
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Old Jun 10, 2017, 3:46 pm
  #22  
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Originally Posted by slawecki
a long time ago, we were flying out of BVI on a small, 4 engine plane that i cannot find. loading was from the rear. the plane was a little over half full. everyone sat in the rear. the tail went down. the pilot came out, and rearranged the passengers. the pilot was the president of the airline. the tail came off the ground, and we flew to soju with no incidents.
plane had 4 Lycoming engines.
Years ago flew San Juan to St. Croix on Prinair, a Puerto Rican airline. They used to fly all over the Caribbean. They flew the 4 engine piston/prop de Havilland DH.114 Heron. Acording to wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Heron some had Lycoming engines. The Heron was known for sitting on its tail if too many pax sat in the back rows.
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Old Jun 10, 2017, 7:52 pm
  #23  
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Originally Posted by Kevin AA
The only 6-across plane with tail-mounted engines I can think of is the 727. (It must have been tail-mounted because that's the only time a very light load requires moving everyone up front as a 737 or like would be front-heavy if everyone sat up front)

That happened to me one time as well on an AA MD-80... very light load and they moved everyone up front.
No, the problem was they put the cargo in wrong and they were trying to compensate without taking everything out and starting over.
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Old Jun 10, 2017, 10:41 pm
  #24  
 
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I was once on an EMB120 that had only 4 passengers. We all had to move to the back for takeoff, but we were allowed to sit wherever we wanted when we were airborne.
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Old Jun 11, 2017, 9:25 am
  #25  
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Originally Posted by LarryJ
The CRJ and E145 have only one cargo compartment and it is in the tail. This doesn't give any of the loading flexibility that is available on airplanes with both forward and aft under-floor cargo bins. All cargo, checked, and carry-on bags must go in the aft cargo compartment leaving nothing left to adjust but the passenger's seating.
I once read a baby jet tech sheet IIRC on the CRJ regarding weight and balance. I was surprised that high tech jets use a low tech method. If the balance needs to be shifted, the ground crews stock sand bags which are added to the cargo bin as needed to balance the plane.
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Old Jun 11, 2017, 4:14 pm
  #26  
 
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Originally Posted by Flaflyer
I once read a baby jet tech sheet IIRC on the CRJ regarding weight and balance. I was surprised that high tech jets use a low tech method. If the balance needs to be shifted, the ground crews stock sand bags which are added to the cargo bin as needed to balance the plane.
Yes, ballast. That is sometimes needed on the CRJ or ERJ when the cabin is full (can't move passengers) but the airplane is still too nose-heavy. No other option other than removing passengers.

Having only a single cargo compartment limits your flexibility.
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Old Jun 11, 2017, 7:19 pm
  #27  
 
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Originally Posted by FlyingUnderTheRadar
This incident was not due getting the W&B wrong it was due to cargo being unsecured and moving thus causing a catastrophic W&B issue.

That said I have been several different planes with W&B issues that were solved by either moving or removing PAX.
Was about to say/post I thought the 747 linked was an issue with major cargo shifting rearward during take off.
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Old Jul 9, 2017, 5:32 pm
  #28  
 
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Originally Posted by John Isaac
Recently I was asked to move from the second seat in the front to the back of an Air Canada CRJ plane flying from YYZ to RDU in order to balance the plane's weight according to the FA. The plane was almost completely full. I am 6 feet, 185 lbs. This sounds crazy to me?? Am I wrong or did the FA have a case?
Every zone of the aircraft needs to have a certain minimum weight in order for the aircraft to have the proper center of gravity for take-off. Just before the main cabin door is closed, the final W&B calculations are made, and if there is not enough weight in each zone, people/cargo are moved around until each zone is within the proper weight range.

Originally Posted by LarryJ
The CRJ and E145 have only one cargo compartment and it is in the tail. This doesn't give any of the loading flexibility that is available on airplanes with both forward and aft under-floor cargo bins. All cargo, checked, and carry-on bags must go in the aft cargo compartment leaving nothing left to adjust but the passenger's seating.
More specifically, the CRJ-100/200 only have an aft cargo compartment. The CRJ-700/900/1000 have a forward underfloor cargo compartment. It isn't big by any stretch, but can accommodate smaller roller bags.

Originally Posted by Flaflyer
I once read a baby jet tech sheet IIRC on the CRJ regarding weight and balance. I was surprised that high tech jets use a low tech method. If the balance needs to be shifted, the ground crews stock sand bags which are added to the cargo bin as needed to balance the plane.
What other method would you expect to add weight when there are no more people or cargo to add?
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Old Jul 10, 2017, 8:21 am
  #29  
 
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Originally Posted by saxman66
CRJ-200's are probably the worst when it comes to W&B issues. They are almost always nose heavy, so the answer is to move people to the back. Cargo helps too, but when people don't have enough checked or valet bags there has to either be weight added to the cargo or sometimes it's easier and quicker to ask for someone from the front to go to the back. Fuel loading plays a factor as well. The higher the fuel load the CG will move aft as well. But on short flights they won't carry as much fuel.
That would explain why I've been moved a few times. Most of the flights out of my regional airport use the CRJ-200. I don't mind because that usually means the flight is fairly emptyl. I actually get some room to spread out, well as much room as one can get on a CRJ-200.
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