19. The Elements of Field Weight and Balance Control
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Paper
Abstract
Who is going to control, capably, the weight and balance of tens of thousands of airplanes a year? A suitable answer to that question is a mere detail among many, but never-the-less an important factor in winning this war. In it lies the key to more efficient airplane operations; in it lies the key to an appreciable reduction of the too frequent that waste and destroy life, aircraft, equipment, and training. It can not be denied that these assets are the items the hardest to obtain or to replace, the items most needed, and among the keys that will unlock some of the many doors that lead to victory.
During 1942 some military organizations gave a few short courses in field weight and balance control to a hundred or so of their personnel. These courses provided a few instructors for subsequent classes to be conducted and a few personnel with a working knowledge of field weight and balance control for some of the more active bases. In spite of this excellent start, there is still, however, a great need for the training of more weight and balance engineers for the operational control of military aircraft.
Realizing the serious lack of such knowledge and the critical shortage of weight and balance personnel, a series of papers on field weight and balance control was prepared, endeavoring to cover the problems encountered after the airplane has left the factory. The material was first written as a textbook to be used in conjunction with a series of lectures given during training courses for weight and balance officers. Experience in the field, however, indicates that a wider dissemination of this knowledge would be a great overall aid to the situation. There are many personnel who need it that will never take the officer’s course. Therefore these articles are now published for the benefit of all who will take the trouble to study them.
In large airplanes, with a disposable load capacity running into several tons, how to distribute the load so as to arrive at a safe and economical C.G. position, or how and which items to shift to achieve safe and optimum load distribution, becomes an important problem – the one with which these articles are concerned.
