SESKStuff Everyone Should Know
SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/pilot-weight-times-arm

How is an item's moment calculated for airplane weight and balance?

Multiply its weight by its arm.

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  1. Arm divided by weight
  2. Weight plus arm
  3. Weight multiplied by arm ✔

Why: Moment measures the turning effect of a load around the datum. Multiply the item's weight in pounds by its arm in inches to obtain pound-inches.

Huh, didn't know that: An arm is the horizontal distance from the reference datum to an item's center of gravity.

The dad joke
Weight and arm had a moment when they multiplied.
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References

Answer: Weight multiplied by arm. Moment measures the turning effect of a load around the datum. Multiply the item's weight in pounds by its arm in inches to obtain pound-inches.

  1. FAA Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, Chapter 10 www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/12_phak_ch10.pdf
    the product of the weight of an item multiplied by its arm
    Checked 2026-10-09.

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