Unicom
November 2004 Issue
Unicom: 11/04
Grossing Out
I very much enjoyed the article on weight and balance (“Positioning Pounds,” July 2004). It is my understanding that the poor full-fuel payloads we see in virtually all of our Part 23 single-engine aircraft have to do with the manufacturers’ meeting the rather arbitrary 61 knot Vso requirement.
For instance, the new TBM 700C2 max gross weight was increased by 815 pounds because Socata took advantage of an exception to the 61 knot Vso requirement. It had to provide crashworthy seats able to tolerate 20-G decelerations. The Vso for the 700C2 is 65 knots. Same wing and same engine as other TBMs, yet it gets a tremendous increase in max weights. Also, the FAA grants...
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