Flying with photo gear… charging by weight

[Glenn NK]

My son and I (both engineers) have often discussed when airlines would realize that the weight they carry is in effect, held up in the air by the fuel they use. More weight = more fuel. To say nothing of the added stress on the equipment.

Oddly enough, they use weight as a factor when hauling freight, and truckers have been using the "ton-mile" (kg-km) measure forever.

I'm ready to let someone else pay their own share for their "freight".

My hat is off to Somoa Airlines - now perhaps airlines will have an opportunity to actually not lose money.

Glenn

[GrahamH]

Political correctness has ruled the day so far. Now the thin edge of the wedge has been pushed in - or is likely to be enforced to a greater extent.
The majority of people are not classified as obese, yet many of the non-obese suffer due to their neighbours size.
I'm all for individual rights - as long as it doesn't impinge upon another persons rights (to comfort, space, safety, whatever).
Quick google search.
http://everything2.com/title/Southwe...ight+travelers
http://www.today.com/id/43065073/ns/.../#.UWSuwqLU_VA
http://www.ibtimes.com/obese-man-for...-flight-374536
http://www.airliners.net/aviation-fo....main/5619909/

Graham
long live equality

[Andrew1]

It should also be noted that airlines making long hauls are also jamming in extra seats both length-wise and width-wise. I've seen the good and the bad. I've been on a few different airlines and the worst I've ever been on is Air Transat in Canada. An extra seat in the center run and I don't know how many rows were added. At 6' my knees were right up against the seat in front of me and when that person tried to put his seat back it jammed my legs pretty bad. What a joke. Air Transat is a vacation cattle carrier I've used before but that one particular flight was the worst and never again. Yes, some of the new rules are aimed at the traveler who is abusing the guidelines, and there are some on every flight, but if the airlines wish to make adjustments to the rules then the aviation boards need to make sure the carriers are playing ball as well.

[Colin Southern]

More weight = more fuel.

And ironically, more fuel means more fuel too (it takes fuel to carry fuel).

[CP140]

And ironically, more fuel means more fuel too (it takes fuel to carry fuel).

Yep... gone are the days when you loaded fuel to Max T/O weight or filled the tanks...now the fuel burn/alternate diversions and holds are calculated almost to the pound...

[AB26]

Mike I have to admit that I have been a long standing advocate of this way of charging for airfare. Easy for me to be in favour of it as me and my wife will be allowed to carry a lot more baggage than the average individual.
My 55Kg daughter had to pay a R50.00 fine, on a now bankrupt SA airline, because her luggage was 1Kg overweight. How about the 110Kg passenger that was sitting next to her, what did he pay for being "overweight"?

Apparently it is official now: South Africans are the 3rd most obese nation on earth - should we be proud?

Easy to carry your photo gear on an airplane - leave the clothing and other stuff behind!

[AB26]

The main reason not to have camera gear in checked-in luggage is theft

In this department ACSA (Airports Company of South Africa) shines brightly amongst the brightest of stars. So, whenever travelling to SA keep your valuables on you.

[AB26]

, held up in the air by the fuel they use. More weight = more fuel. Glenn

Not entirely true, Glenn. It is a little more complex than that. The more lift the more weight can be carried. The bigger the wing area the greater the lift. More thrust does not necessarily mean more fuel. Aeronautical engineers do a great job in design to carry as much weight as possible with as little fuel used as possible. You only need to look at the stats about Kg. of fuel consumed per passenger per hour.

[AB26]

Case in point - when I used to fly the family to my Mum's place in a 4-seater light twin-engine aircraft (about 1 hour flight), I legally only needed 1.5 hours fuel - we were also pretty close to MAUW (maximum all up weight) (family would always load the kitchen sink) - so my very real decision was to respect the MAUW or go slightly over it and be able to carry around 3.5 hours fuel
So I always erred on the side of a little extra fuel and a little over the (legal) limit.

A very interesting post from you Colin. I believe one of the first things any prospective private pilot has to do is to study all the air crash investigation reports he can lay his hand on.

A few years ago a young man who grew up in the cockpit of Boeings, was dating my daughter. His father is a Senior Captain with SAA, his younger brother is currently flying for Cathy Pacific ( Airbus A340 pilot) he is currently flying for Emirates ( A340).

It was a hot August day when Wilhelm took me up in a Cessna 172, departing from Grand Central in Midrand, for a round trip. I wanted my wife and daughter to fly with us. They would only add another 100 Kg to the weight in the plane. Me and Wilhelm together weighed in at 150Kg. Total weight = 250 Kg. Wilhelm refused to take on more weight. He explained to me that you never fly a light aircraft even close to the maximum weight allowed. If anything ever had to go wrong you need to allow for a safety margin that will allow you to safely land the plane, if possible. Maybe it was his experience flying for Fugro at the time. Fugro is a company doing aerial survey.

One of Wilhelm’s greatest fears was that one of the engines on a Cessna 402 would fail on takeoff or during low flying in mountainous terrain. He always said to me that a 402 is a death trap if an engine had to fail. It was in Nampula in Mozambique, where a team of Fugro’s best pilots were flying survey grids. The night before, Wilhelm and Andries van der Walt scheduled the flight for the next day.

Much speculation went around after the crash. A well trained pilot will turn off the fuel and engines before impact, to avoid explosion. Andries was a very well trained pilot. The 402 crashed in the middle of Nampula on a traffic circle. The pilot and survey operator were killed, no one else. On return to SA, Wilhelm was commissioned to fly survey in Madagascar. He left Fugro and joined Solenta air. After Solenta Wilhelm was flying C130’s dropping food in East Africa and Afganistan before he was accepted by Gulf Air as a co-pilot on an Airbus.

Flying a light aircraft close to legal limits is to close, those who do it may find themselves doing it once to often and joining the Dead Pilots Association.

Colin I hope you will never ever again fly your family in a light aircraft close to the maximum weight allowed. No matter how much fuel you got, flying over a mountain reaching 4250 ft ASL at 3000 ft ASL simply does not work, that is the time you realise why they say the only time you got to much fuel is when you are going down.