ATPL Mass and Balance Lecture Notes

Introduction

• Presenter: Grant, a First Officer at a major UK airline
• Experience: 5 years flying jets for two different airlines
• Topic: Mass and Balance in aviation
• Focus of Lecture: Unit conversions crucial for mass and balance calculations

Unit Systems in Aviation

• Two systems used: Imperial and Metric
• Conversions standardized by: International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
• Reference Document: ICAO Annex 5

Conversion of Units

Distance

• Units Used: Meters and Feet
• Conversion: 1 meter = 3.28 feet
  • Example: Convert 25 meters to feet:
    • Calculation: 25 meters * 3.28 = 82 feet
  • Error Check: Feet are smaller than meters, so number of feet should be greater*

Mass

• Units Used: Kilograms and Pounds
• Conversion: 1 kilogram = 2.205 pounds
  • Example: Convert 200 pounds to kilograms:
    • Calculation: 200 pounds / 2.205 = 90.703 kg
  • Error Check: Kilograms are larger than pounds, so number of kilograms should be fewer

Weight vs. Mass

• Physics Concept: Weight is a force (measured in Newtons), Mass is not
• Aviation Use: Often used interchangeably
• Conversion Factor: Acceleration due to gravity = 9.81 m/s²
  • Example: Convert mass of 150 kg to weight:
    • Calculation: 150 kg * 9.81 = 1471.5 Newtons*

Volume

• Units Used: Liters, Imperial gallons, US gallons
• Conversions:
  • 1 Imperial gallon = 4.564 liters
  • 1 US gallon = 3.785 liters
• Conversion between gallons:
  • First convert to liters, then to desired gallon type
  • Example: Convert 5 US gallons to Imperial gallons:
    • Step 1: 5 US gallons * 3.785 = 18.925 liters
    • Step 2: 18.925 liters / 4.564 = 4.147 Imperial gallons*

Summary of Key Conversions

• Distance: 1 meter = 3.28 feet
• Mass: 1 kilogram = 2.205 pounds
• Volume:
  • 1 Imperial gallon = 4.564 liters
  • 1 US gallon = 3.785 liters