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To compute the center of gravity, each weight is multiplied by its distance from the front of the airplane, and the productscalled moment arms or simply momentsare then summed and divided by the total weight (see Figure 8-4). |
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The Starship-1 manual gives the distance from the front of the plane to the crew's seats, closet, baggage compartment, and fuel tanks. There are four rows of passenger seats, so this calculation depends on where the individual passengers sit. We have to make some assumptions about how passengers arrange themselves. Each row has two seats. The most popular seats are in row 2 because they are near the entrance and face forward. Once row 2 is filled, passengers usually take seats in row 1, facing their traveling companions. Row 3 is usually the next to fill up, even though it faces backward, because row 4 is a fold-down bench seat that is less comfortable than the armchairs in the forward rows. The following table gives the distance from the nose of the plane to each of the loading stations. |
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| Loading Station | Distance from Nose (inches) | | Crew seats | 143 | | Row 1 seats | 219 | | Row 2 seats | 265 | | Row 3 seats | 295 | | Row 4 seats | 341 | | Closet | 182 | | Baggage | 386 |
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Figure8-4
A Passenger Moment Arm |
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