Which action is considered to affect CG results during weight and balance checks?

Which action is considered to affect CG results during weight and balance checks?

• A. Parking brakes set
• B. Parking brakes not set
• C. Leaving the downlocks installed
• D. Fuel quantity misread

Answer: (C)

During weight and balance checks, the center of gravity is determined by the total weight and the distribution of that weight (the moments) about a reference datum. Any item that is added, left in place, or not accounted for changes either the total weight or where that weight sits, and that shifts the calculated CG. Leaving the downlocks installed is an action that directly changes the weight distribution. Downlocks add mass to the gear area, and since they’re located at a specific distance from the datum, their presence alters the moment calculation and the resulting CG. They’re not normally part of flight configuration, so forgetting to remove them leads to an inaccurate CG. Parking brakes being set or not does not change the aircraft’s weight distribution, just the braking state. A fuel quantity misread would cause an incorrect CG calculation only because the input data is wrong, not because the aircraft’s actual weight distribution was changed during the check.

During weight and balance checks, the center of gravity is determined by the total weight and the distribution of that weight (the moments) about a reference datum. Any item that is added, left in place, or not accounted for changes either the total weight or where that weight sits, and that shifts the calculated CG.

Leaving the downlocks installed is an action that directly changes the weight distribution. Downlocks add mass to the gear area, and since they’re located at a specific distance from the datum, their presence alters the moment calculation and the resulting CG. They’re not normally part of flight configuration, so forgetting to remove them leads to an inaccurate CG.

Parking brakes being set or not does not change the aircraft’s weight distribution, just the braking state. A fuel quantity misread would cause an incorrect CG calculation only because the input data is wrong, not because the aircraft’s actual weight distribution was changed during the check.