Aircraft Weight Estimating and Use of RP8 for Weight Allocation

Instructor: 

Dudley Cate, SAWE Fellow, formerly, Head of NAVAIR Mass Properties Group

Class Description: 

The objectives of this one-day course are to provide an overview of weight estimating methods and the weight estimating process for aircraft, and to provide insight into the weight and balance reporting formats and requirements of SAWE Recommended Practice 8. Included will be description of the many types of aircraft estimating methods, together with their applicability and limitations. Many other weight estimating considerations also will be addressed, including impacts of new technologies, estimating prototypes and derivatives, sources of weight data and estimating methods, and dealing with estimating uncertainty. Estimating aircraft center of gravity location and moments of inertia will be briefly discussed. The portion of the course devoted to RP8 will address the three contained therein. The basic RP8 concept of allocation by function will be explained, and the important RP8 allocation instructions will be covered. The requirements for structural increments and design information also will be addressed, along with why inclusion of those data is so important to weight estimating and weight control.