Weight Creep is Real & Something to Keep Your Eyes On!
Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2017 8:35 pm
Yesterday, in blazing heat and smoke from wild fires, my mechanic and I conducted my sixth annual condition inspection on my 2007 Sting S3. Afterwards, I just wanted to get home quickly–-to my favorite easy chair and cold drinks. This morning, I went back out early to put all my regular “stuff” (anything not part of the official unladen weight) back in the airplane. Since 3 years had past since I last weighed all that stuff, I decided fresh weights were called for. The results (pounds) were as follows: Tools & Parts Bag–6; Flight Bag–5; Canopy Cover/Rope & Spare Inner Tube–5; Headsets/Hats/Chocks & Pee Bottle–4; Spare Headset & Sunglasses–3; Garmin 695, Run as a Portable–3; and Emergency Radio & PLB–1. The whopping total was 27 pounds.
And do you know what it was 3 years ago–-and what number I’ve since been entering in my daily weight-and-balance determination using the Garmin 695? It was 17 pounds! Small additions, cumulatively, can really add up bigly over time.
And, if you land and take-off in mountains, or anyplace density altitudes may go through the roof--It could ultimately mean whether you live to "flight" another day...or not.
That’s it. I rest my case.
And do you know what it was 3 years ago–-and what number I’ve since been entering in my daily weight-and-balance determination using the Garmin 695? It was 17 pounds! Small additions, cumulatively, can really add up bigly over time.
And, if you land and take-off in mountains, or anyplace density altitudes may go through the roof--It could ultimately mean whether you live to "flight" another day...or not.
That’s it. I rest my case.