Question for AMC guys

[A Squared]

I'm doing some flying for AMC (Japan Korea Guam right now but we also have contracts in Alaska Mcguire and Europe) At most of our stops some enlisted guy comes up to the cockpit to grab load paperwork and give me some for the stuff being loaded, he/she always has a form that he's filling in as he's asking for numbers. One of the numbers that is always asked for is "Operating weight" Now in our operation the only number we have that sounds like "operating weight" is our "basic operating weight" (aircraft weight with no fuel or cargo) I have a sneaking suspicion that is not the weight he is looking for but any time I've tried to clarify what they want, I get a blank look and "I dunno, sir, I just need your operating weight for this form"

So for the guys flying AMC stuff, if you're at an intermediate stop and the paperwork guy asks you for your "operating weight" what weight you give them? Landing weight at that stop? T/O weight departing origin? T/o weight departing that stop? BOW?

 

[motch]

Operating weight they are looking for is the weight of the aircraft minus fuel and cargo.
IE..
Operating weight PLUS cargo would be your zero fuel weight.
Zero fuel weight plus your fuel is your Takeoff weight.

They are trying to figure out a MAX ACL based on the fuel that you will upload. How much cargo that can put on.

Good luck and fly safe..
Motch

 

[b707guy]

What motch said. You with Lynden? If so, we're usually sharing the ramp with you at WRI.

 

[A Squared]

Operating weight they are looking for is the weight of the aircraft minus fuel and cargo.

OK, thanks, so they *are* asking for essentially our BOW (actually our adjusted OW, which includes roller configuration and extra crew)

Operating weight PLUS cargo would be your zero fuel weight.
Zero fuel weight plus your fuel is your Takeoff weight.

Yeah, I know that stuff of course, I was just wondering it the military had an entirely different set of terms for W&B numbers and I was giving them the wrong number.

They are trying to figure out a MAX ACL based on the fuel that you will upload. How much cargo that can put on.

Good luck and fly safe..
Motch

Yeah, they occasionally ask what the Max ACL is too, which would seem simpler to start with. I guess i can see that the contract management types would be interested in this, as in: " lessee we contracted and had available X thousand pounds of lift from X to y, and we actually used Z pounds."

You with Lynden? If so, we're usually sharing the ramp with you at WRI.

Yeah, that's us, although I haven't flown out of WRI yet.

 

[JungleJett]

They ask all airlifters this...I used to give them a rough number. On the Herk (slicks), I usually just told them 85,000 pounds (unless we had armor). It does not have to be exact...just something close.

 

[navigatro]

Just make something up.

I mean really, how important is W&B?

 

[A Squared]

Just make something up.

I mean really, how important is W&B?

I think you're missing the point here, we, the crew, of course compute W & B and load the aircraft within limits.

The AMC pencil pushers do not have anything to do with the W&B, and that is where the numbers are going.

I just wanted to make sure I was giving them the correct numbers.

 

[JungleJett]

Just make something up.

I mean really, how important is W&B?

I think this might be directed at me so I will respond. When you are doing W&B in your C-172, 15 pounds might make a difference. When you are doing it in a C-130, that could be what my overnight bag weighs....or not. What Squared said is right on, it is less about the weight and more about where you put it. The number I gave them was about always within 200 pounds of the actual weight. Most of the time, the people would ask while I was unloading the airplane with tons of other airplanes to work. If the weight was close to our max ACL, I would be way more precise...we were NEVER close to ACL.

 

[A Squared]

On the Herk (slicks), I usually just told them 85,000 pounds (unless we had armor).

85,000? we're running around 75K -77k (add 2K-3K for rollers) and our planes are the stretch version. what made the operating weight so much more? you carying areound a bunch of stuff we don't?

 

[JungleJett]

85,000? we're running around 75K -77k (add 2K-3K for rollers) and our planes are the stretch version. what made the operating weight so much more? you carying areound a bunch of stuff we don't?

Depends on the model. We had H-2's and that was a good average weight.