What tasks are completed prior to weighing an aircraft to determine its empty weight?

What tasks are completed prior to weighing an aircraft to determine its empty weight?

• A. Refit the landing gear and drain oil
• B. Remove all items except those on the aircraft equipment list; drain fuel and fill hydraulic reservoir
• C. Weigh with full load and adjust
• D. Disconnect all electrical systems and remove crew

Answer: (B)

To determine empty weight, you want the aircraft stripped down to only what is normally considered part of its baseline, certified equipment and to have all consumable fluids at their standard levels. That means removing everything not on the aircraft’s equipment list and bringing fluids to their normal operating state so the scale reads the true empty weight, not the weight of payload or extra fluids. Removing all items not on the equipment list eliminates variances caused by optional gear, baggage, or other add-ons. Draining fuel ensures there’s no usable fuel in the tanks that would inflate the weight. Filling the hydraulic reservoir to its standard level keeps the fluid amount consistent with the published empty-weight configuration, so the measurement reflects the intended baseline rather than an under- or over-filled system. Other options would either add or subtract weight in ways that don’t represent the empty-weight configuration: changing landing gear or other parts would alter the weight, weighing with a full load would measure gross rather than empty weight, and disconnecting electrical systems or removing crew isn’t part of the standard procedure for obtaining the empty weight.

To determine empty weight, you want the aircraft stripped down to only what is normally considered part of its baseline, certified equipment and to have all consumable fluids at their standard levels. That means removing everything not on the aircraft’s equipment list and bringing fluids to their normal operating state so the scale reads the true empty weight, not the weight of payload or extra fluids.

Removing all items not on the equipment list eliminates variances caused by optional gear, baggage, or other add-ons. Draining fuel ensures there’s no usable fuel in the tanks that would inflate the weight. Filling the hydraulic reservoir to its standard level keeps the fluid amount consistent with the published empty-weight configuration, so the measurement reflects the intended baseline rather than an under- or over-filled system.

Other options would either add or subtract weight in ways that don’t represent the empty-weight configuration: changing landing gear or other parts would alter the weight, weighing with a full load would measure gross rather than empty weight, and disconnecting electrical systems or removing crew isn’t part of the standard procedure for obtaining the empty weight.