36. Weight Control in Military Air Transport Service

Paper

Abstract

In the vast Global operation in which Military Air transport Service is engaged, Weight and Balance is a very important factor. I will endeavor to recount briefly some of the problems of weight control in Military Air Transport Service and our approach to solving them. But before I do this let us look back several years, say to 1942. In that year we were engaged in a great world conflict; also, in that year the Air Transport Command was born. One of the missions of this organization was that of ferrying all types of aircraft to the far corners of the Globe for use by our fighting units; at the same time, we were carrying cargo, personnel, and equipment of various types to support these personnel and organizations. In order to do this effectively we had to be able to utilize every available inch of cargo or bombay space so as to get the maximum out of these aircraft. To load these aircraft efficiently and to obtain the best performance, a system of Weight Control had to be established which evolved into the Weight and Balance system we know today.