Hello Everyone,

I fly out of Cobb County (KRYY) near Atlanta and have always rented G1000 C172's and C182's.

I've decided that this is the year I'll take the plunge and purchase my first plane which is either going to be a G36 or a Cessna 210 that has been overhauled.

The G36 was love at first flight so I'm thinking I'll go that way. One current question I have on the G36 is forward CG loading. When I took a test flight, the Beech salesman said that we were very close to the forward CG limits of the plane (He was 250 Lbs and I'm 240)

Does anyone know if this is true or if there is a max weight in the front seats?

Thanks

Jim

Jim,

Welcome to BT from Atlanta. I'm down in Peachtree City and there's plenty of Beech expertise in the Atlanta area.

It's quite possible that you'll be close to the forward CG with almost 500 lbs in the front seats, nothing in the rear, and full fuel. I have a 1965 S35, and when it's just me (215) and another hefty in the front seats, we carry some ballast water in the rear. It's also convenient in a survival situation.

FYI: The Southeastern Bonanza Society is meeting for lunch in PTC in May. Come on down and get to know how friendly the Beech community is...

Jim,
Welcome to BT.

I have a C33A with the IO-550-R.

If I had 500 pounds in the front seats, full main fuel tanks, and nothing in baggage or rear seats, my CG is too far forward... I can get it back within the line if I have 90 pounds or more in baggage.

Welcome Jim,

you might consider giving Jason Crandall a shout out. He keeps his G36 over @ PDK. He could probably answer many of your questions.

blue skies

A "max weight" is 190 pounds, at least it is on my bathroom scales.

Welcome to BT. The flight to Knoxville gives one a gorgeous view of the Appalachians. Come on up sometime and I will show you around.

KRYY, Marietta, GA, was my home base for a short while in 1970. There were no jets there then and the airport was way out in the country. Forty years goes by fast and a lot of changes occur along the way.

Jim,

Welcome and please tell us your impressions of your demo flight.....Assuming a BEW of a typical G36 (2650 lbs) and configured as you discribed you were indeed very close to exceeding your forward CG limits, if you did not have any ballast in the 5th & 6th seat (Arm 152 in.) or rear baggage area (Arm 180 in) and your fuel loading was no more than 45gals you were probably within CG limits. However, if your fuel loading was MORE than 45gals and you were configured as described above then you were likely exceeding your CG limits even though you would be around 200 lbs below your MGTW of 3650 lbs. ( you need a little ballast in the rear baggage area with this loading config)

The POH sets out maximum weights for floor structural load limits and maximum baggage weights for payload locations for the differing seat configurations. But the POH is silent as to a maximum weight for the Pilot - CoPilot positions, assuming you are not exceeding CG limits you presumably can have whatever weight is required so long as you do not exceed the Max Gross & CG limits.

Chris

Thanks for the info Vince.

When is the meeting in May?. I just may be able to stop by


Jim,

Welcome to BT from Atlanta. I'm down in Peachtree City and there's plenty of Beech expertise in the Atlanta area.

It's quite possible that you'll be close to the forward CG with almost 500 lbs in the front seats, nothing in the rear, and full fuel. I have a 1965 S35, and when it's just me (215) and another hefty in the front seats, we carry some ballast water in the rear. It's also convenient in a survival situation.

FYI: The Southeastern Bonanza Society is meeting for lunch in PTC in May. Come on down and get to know how friendly the Beech community is...

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Thanks Max,

Knoxville Downtown is a great little airport and I enjoy flying there. I'll let you know the next time I'm headed that way

Thanks


Jim

Hey Chris,

Thanks for taking the time to send that detailed message. The info was very helpful.

The Demo flight was last August on a 2009 G36 with about 50 hours on it. We flew out of FTY with John Lee, the Beech salesman, who did a great job of demonstrating the aircraft. I was initially impressed with the fit, finish and quality of the aircraft. Next I was impressed with the responsiveness and then the performance while cruising at 176 knots true (but at 18Gal/hr) Landing was uneventful, but at a slightly greater speed than the C182. The G1000 made me feel at home so at least the avionics were the same for me. All in all quite an impressive machine.

Thanks Chris






Jim,

Welcome and please tell us your impressions of your demo flight.....Assuming a BEW of a typical G36 (2650 lbs) and configured as you discribed you were indeed very close to exceeding your forward CG limits, if you did not have any ballast in the 5th & 6th seat (Arm 152 in.) or rear baggage area (Arm 180 in) and your fuel loading was no more than 45gals you were probably within CG limits. However, if your fuel loading was MORE than 45gals and you were configured as described above then you were likely exceeding your CG limits even though you would be around 200 lbs below your MGTW of 3650 lbs. ( you need a little ballast in the rear baggage area with this loading config)

The POH sets out maximum weights for floor structural load limits and maximum baggage weights for payload locations for the differing seat configurations. But the POH is silent as to a maximum weight for the Pilot - CoPilot positions, assuming you are not exceeding CG limits you presumably can have whatever weight is required so long as you do not exceed the Max Gross & CG limits.

Chris

It's on May 15th. You can find more info here: http://www.sebs.org/upcomingflyins.htm

Harold Bost will be the host for the event. You can contact him at: hbostmail@aol.com; (770) 719-0638