Weight and balance considerations of a helicopter are similar to those of an airplane, except they are far more critical, and the center of gravity (CG) range is much more limited. [Figures 1 and 2] The engineers who design a helicopter determine the amount of cyclic control authority that is available, and establish both the […]
Consider the helicopter in Figure 1. The first leg of the flight consumes 26 gallons of fuel, and at the end of this leg, the passenger deplanes. Is the helicopter still within allowable CG limits for takeoff? To find out, make a new chart like the one in Figure 2 to show the new loading
The empty weight and empty weight center of gravity (EWCG) of a helicopter are determined in the same way as for an airplane. See section, Single-Engine Aircraft Weight and Balance Computations. The weights recorded on the scales supporting the helicopter are added and their distances from the datum are used to compute the moments at
