Originally Posted by
Devildog2Pilot
Im a new FO and I ran into an issue the other day that ended up costing an hour delay. I'm pretty sure this is a big issue as far as ASA's on time performance.
We often get hit up with the "how many people can we take" line, and that is a fairly easy calculation that doesnt result in aircraft balance issues because bags go before pax. This particular flight, however, was downgraded from a 700 to 200 (no clue why), so it was important to delta that that pax go before the bags. That is an easy calculation as well, but it will most often result in balance issues because there is no junk in the trunk. You can't throw balast in the back becasue you are already at max weight, so you end up kicking more people off the plane and adding bags to balance things out.
Im not sure why, but no body on the ramp seems to understand the whole balance concept either.
I guess my question would be, has anyone developed software or a spread sheet that allows you to input all these variables and come out with a quick number to tell the agent that will result in an under max, balanced condition?
You say you are a new FO - I think that you will find that you can do the calculation very quickly after a short time. Its amazing how fast guys get with the whizzwheel.
I am really surprised that your Cap. didn't see you were struggling and do it for you.
In the case you mentioned it is fairly straightforward to do the work on the whizzwheel. Just start backing out passengers from the front and adding the same weight into the cargo until you get within limits. You should be able to move one pax at a time in about 10 secs on the wheel. You might want to practice that before it comes up again.
I was at ASA for 7 years so I know what a pain it can be when they start asking you to juggle those numbers!