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Original Message
"Is weight a significant factor?"
Posted by Charlie45 on 10-16-05 at 00:14z
I fly out of Dallas and have about 20-30 hours of acro in a Super Decathlon under my belt. My latest instructor is a very experienced pilot and also an airshow veteran, his name is Charlie Jirik (maybe some of you here are familiar with him).

I feel like I have learned a tremedous amount from this guy, however he has a very low tolerance for mistakes. Lately I have been soloing alot of the manuevers he has showed me and I feel like I can perform the maneuvers much better without him in the back seat. This leads into my question, namely how much can the extra weight of a passenger effect the ability to perform certain aerobatic manuevers well? I especially have difficulty with hammerheads when he is in the backseat. I should also note, that he is not exactly a featherweight, he probably weighs around 250lbs. I weigh around 225lbs myself, and with both tanks 3/4 full, we are probably almost exceeding the envelope. Anyways, just wanted to here it from the pros out there and get a better understanding too what extent weight can adversely impact the ability to perform good manuevers.

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Messages in this discussion
"RE: Is weight a significant factor?"
Posted by jsmutny on 10-18-05 at 14:45z
Charlie45 -

Weight is a very significant factor when flying aerobatics. Every extra pound in the airplane has to be lugged up on that vertical! And when you're talking about a lower performance airplane like the 180 Decathlon, yes, you will see a significant improvement in performance when the instructor isn't in the plane.

And if your numbers are correct, you are also definitely outside the envelope.

Sometime getting the input from another instructor is warranted and helpful.

"RE: Is weight a significant factor?"
Posted by jpfamg on 12-04-05 at 03:50z
LAST EDITED ON 12-04-05 AT 03:53z ()

Being an airshop hot shot doesn't mean he is a good instructor. I would wonder if his hypercritical nature causes you to fly better when he isn't along!

"RE: Is weight a significant factor?"
Posted by Patty_Wagstaff on 01-16-06 at 14:51z
Hi there

Weight is a huge factor in getting the best performance out of an aerobatic (or any) airplane. You just have to take it into consideration when instructing.

When flying an airshow or a competition, pilots are very careful to keep the weight of their airplanes down - going so far as to take instruments out of the airplane before flying, etc.

Best regards
Patty Wagstaff