3629. The Mysterious Art of Weight Estimation of Large Civil Aircraft

Paper

Abstract

The weight estimation of large civil aircraft has been a challenge much explored by aircraft manufacturers and academics. The difficulties to achieve the required accuracy and sensitivities to design changes during the development cycle of an aircraft are well known by those involved in the mass properties discipline.
Weight figures are required from the very early stages of the product definition right the way through to the end of life of an aircraft and each stage of the development process presents a range of problems for the mass properties engineer to solve.
To the uninitiated it may appear to be an impossible task to provide accurate weights when considering the complexity of today’s large civil aircraft, how interdependent are the numerous disciplines involved & how much of the aircraft final design is unknown in the early phases where weight estimation plays a critical role in ensuring a successful product for both manufacturer & customer.
This paper explores some of those challenges and describes some solutions employed today in the Aircraft industry in support of the aircraft design and development process.