How are airplanes weighed? - Answers

Original Q: What are airplanes weighed in? Airplanes are weighed using scales that are placed under the wheels. Airplanes are NOT weighed before each flight. Instead, they are weighed at manufacture and during any modification or heavy maintenance. This becomes the aircraft's Empty Weight. Then the pilot calculates the Take-off Weight by adding the weight of the passengers and cargo and the known quantity of fuel, etc. Example: I was flying on a special ferry flight on an empty DC10 airliner and the pilot checked his calculations and said that we were 375 lbs over what was expected. With only 5 people onboard, he knew that the "crew" weight could not be off by that much. Then he remembered that this special flight required a fly-away parts kit to be carried which accounted for the extra weight.