Takeoff and Landing Weight Calculation for B737-800 Aircraft before Flight Operation

Abstract

The most important priority of any flight operations for passengers and cargo transportation, which starts from the departure airport to the destination airport, is safety. Therefore, pre-flight plans must accurately plan before any flight operations. The crucial steps prioritize such as pre-flight planning for takeoff and landing weight calculation. Normally, an aircraft’s weight performance for takeoff and landing depends on several factors, such as runway length, surface condition, and runway density, and the maximum load capacity according to the aircraft’s structure. Hence, this article will discuss how to calculate the weight of B737-800 aircraft for takeoff and landing with a non-programmed method from the aircraft manufacturer and a method using the results calculated from the aircraft manufacturer’s program. These methods are considered by several factors that impede the aircraft competency, for example, runway length limit weight, takeoff obstacles limit weight. Both methods are consistent results. Nowadays, most airline companies use the calculation method from the aircraft manufacturer’s program because it saves more time and provides high accuracy. However, the program costs a high price. By this means, the program has been occasionally requested for services by many airlines. On the other hand, unprogrammed calculations from the aircraft manufacturer are still necessary in case there are some problems with changing some weight limit variables. Instead of waiting for another program, flight operators are able to calculate it manually without any payment for the service from the manufacturer’s program.