Weight and Balance Playground
See how passengers, baggage, and fuel affect weight and center of gravity.
Make weight and balance visible
Pilot Rise built the free Weight and Balance Playground to connect the calculation to the airplane. Change passenger, baggage, and fuel loads, then compare the aircraft diagram with the center of gravity (CG) envelope and calculator.
- See the load on the airplane
- Explore the CG envelope
- Connect weight, arm, and moment
Try one loading change at a time
Start with a load inside the displayed envelope. Predict what will happen before changing a weight.
- Move a passenger
Reduce the front-seat load and add the same weight to the rear seats. Compare total weight and CG.
- Change baggage or fuel
Adjust one load and watch its effect on total weight, moment, and the point on the CG envelope.
- Compare the views
Use the loading graph and calculator to connect each compartment’s weight and arm to its moment.
How is center of gravity calculated?
An arm is a distance from the aircraft’s reference datum. Multiply each weight by its arm to find its moment, then add the weights and moments, including the empty aircraft. Total moment divided by total weight gives the CG arm.
Use the calculator view to follow the arithmetic, then compare the result with the point on the CG envelope.
Sources and further reading
Questions about Weight and Balance Playground
Is the Weight and Balance Playground free?
Yes. Pilot Rise’s Weight and Balance Playground is free for independent practice and instructor demonstrations.
What can I explore in the Weight and Balance Playground?
Change passenger, baggage, and fuel loads, then compare the aircraft diagram, CG envelope, loading graph, and calculator. The calculator shows compartment weights, arms, moments, and totals.
Why does moving a passenger change the CG?
Moving a passenger changes that weight’s distance from the reference datum, so its moment changes. Moving the same weight between seats leaves total weight unchanged but shifts the CG.
Put it into practice
Open Weight and Balance Playground to try it for yourself, or explore the rest of the tools we build at Pilot Rise.
