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CHAPTER 22

WEIGHT CONTROL OF AIRCRAFT

1. Introduction

1.1. The mass and centre of gravity of aircraft should be determined prior to the initial
issuance of the Certificate of Airworthiness. Mass and balance control provides
mathematical proof that the aircraft’s mass and balance are within limits. Mass
and balance information can be obtained from the aircraft specifications, aircraft
operation limitations, aircraft flight manual and mass and balance report. The
removal or addition of equipment affects the aircraft’s empty mass and centre of
gravity limits, and thus mass calculations are necessary to ensure the changes
are within the aircraft’s mass and balance limits. The CAR Series X part II lays
down the frequency of weighment of an aircraft and preparation of weight
schedule and also the requirement about display of weight schedule on board
besides the manner of distribution and securing the load in the aircraft.

1.2. This Chapter lays down the procedure to be followed by the Airworthiness offices
for the purpose of weighing of aircraft and approval of weight schedule. This
Airworthiness procedure shall be read in conjunction will CAR Series ‘X’ Part II.

2. Definitions:

Empty Weight. The measured or computed weight of aircraft excluding all

removable equipment and other items of disposable load, but including all items
of fixed equipment which is mandatory for all operations.

Weight Schedule. The document prepared in respect of an individual aircraft to

provide basic weight and center of gravity information for loading that aircraft.

Loading system. The system for ensuring that an aircraft is loaded within
approved limits at all times during flight.

Operating Weight. The empty weight of an aircraft plus those items of

removable equipment and disposable load which remain constant for the type of
operation being conducted.

Removable Equipment. The items of equipment which are carried on some of

the operations but which are not included in the empty weight and which are not
mandatory for the type of operation being conducted.
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2A. Applicable e-GCA Service:

Name of the services Application ID (e.g.)

Approval of Weight Schedule DAW/2021/WAB/00000001

NOTE: Before delivering a service through e-GCA, scrutinizing officer is advised

to refer the latest Back-office User Manual of the relevant services.

3. Weighing Procedures:-

3.1. Initial Weighing:-

a) All aircraft shall be weighed prior to the initial issue of a Certificate of

Airworthiness. In case a new aircraft is imported from outside the country,
weight schedules issued by the manufacturer or the previous operator
weight schedule based on the manufacturer's certificated weight and
balance documents would be acceptable, subsequently weight schedule to
be approved in standard sample format (Appendix I) based on re-
computation made by authorised person.

b) All aircraft shall be weighed when, as a result of a modification or series

of modifications incorporated since the last recorded weighing, the
following changes have occurred in the empty weight or empty center of
gravity position:

i) The empty weight has changed by more than ½ percent of the

maximum all up weight;

or

ii) The empty center of gravity position has changed by more than ½
per cent of the mean aerodynamic chord.

c) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (b) above, if the Director

General of Civil Aviation is satisfied that adequate weight control has been
maintained over an aircraft throughout a modification or series of
modifications of any magnitude, the aircraft need not be re-weighed.

d) Aircraft shall be weighed when in the opinion of the Director General or his
accredited representative weighing is necessary as a result of changes in
empty weight or empty center of gravity position or for any other reason.
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e) Aircraft below 2000 Kg AUW need not be re weighed on routine except

when it has undergone major repair/modification.

f) Aircraft above 2000 Kg AUW shall be weighed every 5 years.

g) Aircraft having AUW more than 2000 kg shall be re-weighed every five
years unless it is required to be re-weighed in accordance with para 4.3 of
CAR Section 2 Series X Part II. However operators may approach Regional
Airworthiness Offices (through the Sub-Regional Airworthiness Offices
wherever applicable) for an ad-hoc extension of the weighment period of an
aircraft by a maximum of 3 months to tide over the operational exigencies.
Such requests for extension may be agreed upon by Regional Airworthiness
Office, if satisfied with the reasons advanced by the operator for his request.
Extension of weighment beyond 3 months may be granted by Director of
Airworthiness of the concerned region under intimation to Headquarters
promptly.

Note: Amendment in the C of A with respect to the AUW (in case of

change in AUW) shall be made after the Weight Schedule with
the revised AUW has been approved.

4. General:

4.1 Weighing of aircraft shall be carried out by the person duly Authorised for
the purpose. Aircraft Weighing procedures detailed in aircraft weight and
balance manual / aircraft maintenance manual shall be followed. An
approved person like Quality Manager or his representative shall be
present and take the responsibility of weighing. Regional/ Sub- regional
Airworthiness Office should be intimated at least seven days prior to the
due date of weighing and officers of SRAO/ RAO may associate with the
weighing process. Checklist for weight control of aircraft (Appendix-II)
through eGCA process flow, has to be followed for the purpose of
weighing of aircraft.

4.2 Aircraft shall be weighed on weighing equipment of range and accuracy

as given by Manufacture. The owner or operator shall provide personnel
and sufficient equipment to complete the weighing satisfactorily and shall
be responsible for the safety of the aircraft and personnel during weighing.

4.3 Two independent weighing shall be performed and the longitudinal datum
line of the aircraft shall be horizontal in at least one of these weighing.
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4.4 Any discrepancy between the total weights as determined by the two
weighing shall be performed and the longitudinal datum line of the aircraft
shall be horizontal in at least one of these weighing.

4.5 The difference between the total weights obtained during two consecutive
weighing shall not exceed 0.2 per cent or 12 Kg, whichever is greater. If
this tolerance is exceeded further weighing shall be performed until the
total weights, as determined by two consecutive and independent
weighings, fall within that tolerance.

4.6 An ‘Aircraft Weighing Summary’ shall be completed and weight schedule

shall be prepared by authorized person with respect to computation details
and weighment printout (if available). Further, an application shall be
submitted to the concerned SRAO/RAO using ‘Approval of Weight
Schedule’ (AWS) service on eGCA portal.

4.7 Weighing of aircraft after each major repair/modification may not

necessarily be required and weight schedule can be prepared on the basis
of correct re-computation made by operator and acceptable to DGCA.
However, an aircraft shall require to be reweighed if it has undergone
major repair, or major alteration or there has been major change in the
interior arrangement of pilot/ pax/ cargo compartments which affect the
already determined weight and balance data and which cannot be
accurately computed without fresh weighment. Decision of the DGCA
whether the aircraft requires reweighing after major repair/ alteration, or
change in interior arrangement, shall be final.

4.8 DGCA may require the reweighment of an aircraft at any time as it

considers necessary and in case there a doubt regarding the accuracy of
the weightment. In such cases, the SRAO/RAO may return the e-
application and may ask for re-weighing of the aircraft.
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5. Persons authorized to weigh and prepare weight schedule

(i) A person specifically authorised by DGCA for the purpose in any

organization.

OR
(ii) A person specifically authorised by Quality Manager in an organization
approved under CAR 145 provided procedure for grant of such approval is
documented in Maintenance Organization Exposition.

6. Preparation and approval of loading data

6.1 After an aircraft has been weighed, the empty weight and corresponding
position of the center of gravity shall be calculated by the operator.

6.2 The operator shall prepare a loading system for each aircraft unless it can be
shown that the aircraft cannot possibly be loaded so that its center of gravity
falls outside the approved range, observing all limitations on compartment
loads.

6.3 Calculation sheet, weight growth summery (if any) along with duly signed
weight schedule (for each configuration) shall be uploaded by the operator via
e- application to concerned SRAO/RAO through AWS service available in
eGCA portal for approval.

6.4 The approved weight schedule shall be displayed in or at permanent place

in the cabin/cockpit of aircraft.

7. Form of weight schedule

After the aircraft has been weighed as required, Weight Schedule to be

prepared which will contain at least the following information:-

(i) Type of Aircraft;

(ii) Registration Marking and Serial No. of aircraft;
(iii) Empty weight including weight of unusable quantity of fuel and oil (Kg);
(iv) Item wise Weight and details of removable equipment (Kg) including
wireless equipment;
(v) Maximum fuel capacity (Usable) in liters and Kg;
(vi) Maximum oil capacity (Usable) in liters and Kg;
(vii) Maximum commercial weight with fuel and oil tanks full;
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(viii) MTOW (as per Certificate of Airworthiness/ Flight Manual) in kg;

(ix) Empty weight Centre of Gravity;
(x) Centre of Gravity Range and datum;
(xi) Maximum number of passengers;
(xii) Signature of appropriately licensed AME/ Approved person;
(xiii) Date of weighing

A standard sample format of the Weight Schedule is enclosed as Appendix I.

8. Approval by Airworthiness office

8.1 The weight schedule after being prepared by an authorised person and duly
signed shall be submitted through e-application to the concerned SRAO/RAO
using ‘Approval of Weight Schedule’ (AWS) service available on eGCA portal.
AWS application shall be processed by the Airworthiness officers of concerned
SRAO/ RAO using eGCA backoffice portal.

8.2 The eGCA user manual for AWS service available at DGCA (Backend) portal
shall be referred for guidance on step by step process of the application. The
SRAO shall scrutinize the application in back office (DGCA end) portal and if
found satisfactory, will forward recommendation to the concerned RAO for
final approval of Weight Schedule.

8.3 Director of Airworthiness of concerned Regional Airworthiness Office would

approve the same with digital signature in e-GCA. On approval a notification
will be sent to the applicant automatically by the system and the approved
document will be available online for download and preserve.

9. Display in the aircraft and preservation of record

A copy of the approved weight schedule must be displayed in the aircraft at a

suitable and prominent place. All persons concerned directly with the loading
of the aircraft shall be duly informed of the various weight figures for
exercising proper weight and balance control of the aircraft. A copy of the
weight schedule must be retained along with other documents of the aircraft
or in the aircraft logbook, till it is replaced by a fresh schedule.

10. Calibration of weighing scales

10.1 The weighing scales used for the purpose of weighing of passenger
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baggage, goods etc. shall be calibrated at specified intervals to the

satisfaction of the QM/ DGCA. The QM is required to bring this requirement
to the notice of the concerned persons for compliance.

10.2 The weighing scales used for the purpose of weighing the aircraft shall be
calibrated at specified intervals to the satisfaction of DGCA. This
requirement may be reflected in the MOE.

11. Record Keeping

All records pertaining to approval of weight Schedule (for all configuration)

and their subsequent approvals applied through e-application including
backend (DGCA) data like notings, documents uploaded (certificates or
checklist) shall be maintained in electronic form for each Indian registered
aircraft. Further, manually approved weight schedules will be available to
the officers through access to digitization records of original documents of
each aircraft. All records will be accessible to concerned SRAO/RAO and
Hqrs.
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APPENDIX I
WEIGHT SCHEDULE
A/C TYPE : A/C REGN: A/C MSN :
A AIRCRAFT EMPTY WEIGHT
The above weight includes:- ( Alternately the weighing configuration document reference may be
provided)
a) Electronic compartment: Battery & radar (......kg) + Electronic equipment (Specify
identification / Zone)(…… kg) + Flight recorders & RA transceivers (…….kg) = ….. kg
b) Flight deck : Emergency equipment (… kg) + Seats (……kg) = …… kg …………kg
c) Cabin : Attendant seats (…..kg) + Passenger seats (…….kg) + Passenger life vests (…… kg) +
Partitions & carpets (……kg) + Galley structure and fixed equipment (…… kg) + Emergency
equipment (…… kg) + Ancillary part like literature pocket (…… kg) = kg
d) Additional Items: Unusable fuel (… kg) + Oil for Engines , IDG , and MGB / APU at normal
level (…….kg ) + Waste tank pre-charge (…… kg) + Cargo nets (…… kg) = kg
B WEIGHT OF REMOVABLE EQUIPMENT (Includes following items) (items that are required to conduct any flight
/ mandatory equipment need not be included. Aircraft items that may be removed for certain type of operation may
be specified. )
1 Aircraft documents & toolkit ……….. kg
2 Potable Water ……….. kg
3 Catering removable equipment ………...kg
4 Catering Allowance …...……kg
C Weight of wireless equipment that are not included in the empty weight at ‘A’ …...……kg
D SUMMARY OF WEIGHT AND C.G
1 Maximum All Up Weight / Maximum take off weight ( MTOW) ( Refer to… ................ ) …….…..kg
2 Weight of Crew members + Baggage (85 Kg per crew) (…. Crew + … Cabin attendants) ……….. kg
3 Maximum Usable Fuel Quantity ( ………. Ltrs) (Sp. Gravity = ............... kg/l) …………kg
4 Maximum Pay Load with fuel tanks full [D1-(A+B+C+D2+D3)] …………kg
5 Maximum Zero Fuel Weight (MZFW) ……….. kg
6 Maximum Aircraft Landing Weight (MLW) ……….. kg
7 Maximum Number of Passengers
8 Datum is located at ………. meters forward of ……………..
9 Empty Weight CG ………….. meters aft of datum.(C G = ........... % MAC)
C G range :
10 FWD CG Limit for flight: ……..% MAC ; As per FM section ………………
AFT CG Limit for flight : % MAC ; As per FM section …………….
11 Aircraft was weighed on ………………… at ……………..…

Approved by _(
Prepared by ( ) )
Name & Designation Name & Designation
Approval No:
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APPENDIX II

CHECKLIST FOR WEIGHT CONTROL OF AIRCRAFT

Details of the Operator -
Name of the Operator :
Location :
Name of the approved person :
Name & Designation of the DGCA :
Officer
Date(s) of Inspection :

S/N Aspects to be inspected SAT UNSAT Remarks

1. 1.1 Check for the availability of Weight and
Balance Manual and for its latest Revision.

1.2 Check for availability of approved person

for reviewing weight growthrecord.

1.3 Check for the person specifically approved

by DGCA/ Quality Manager in an organization
approved under CAR
145 for carrying out weighing.
1.4 Check for the range and accuracy of the
weighing equipment .

2. 2.1 Check for the procedure to ensure that

adequate weight control has been maintained
since last weighing.
2.2 Check that weight determination is being
carried out in an enclosed hangar (to avoid the
effect of wind).
2.3 Check for the fire fighting arrangement in
the hangar such as availability of portable fire
extinguisher etc near to aircraft.

3. 3.1 Check that the weighing scales used are

properly calibrated and used in accordance
with the manufacturer's instructions.
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3.2 Check whether the fuel/oil tanks have

been emptied and the provision to account for
non-usable quantity of fuel and oil exist.

3.3 Check whether there is proper procedure

of for the safety of the aircraft and personnel
during weighing.

3.4 Check whether the Flight Manual is placed

in the aircraft.

3.5 Check whether the aircraft has been

properly leveled.
4. Check the difference between the total weights
obtained during two consecutive weighing shall
not exceed 0.2 per cent or
12 Kg, whichever is greater. (If this tolerance is
exceeded further weighing shall be performed
until the total weights, as determined by two
consecutive and independent weighings, fall
within that tolerance).