Weight and balance is a chore for most pilots – important, but time consuming and a little tedious. That’s why for decades pilots have created their own spreadsheets to make these calculations a little faster, and why some of the first apps to hit the App Store a decade ago tried to simplify the weight and balance process.
One of the best apps early on was Aviation W&B Calculator. It featured an intuitive layout and a solid library of aircraft profiles when we reviewed it back in 2012. Unfortunately, the app was fairly out of date by 2017 and it was eventually removed from the App Store. Since then, founder Roy Kronenfeld has rebuilt the app from the ground up with a new look and more modern codebase.
The new look is clean and easy to use, with an opening screen showing the option to build your own aircraft template or to browse the app’s library of over 270 aircraft. This is a major help, and one of the reasons we like the app more than your typical spreadsheet approach. There are plenty of options for customizing a template, including units (lbs vs. gal, lbs. vs. kg) and custom stations.
Once you’ve created a template, calculating different loading scenarios is fast and easy. Just enter the pilot, co-pilot, and passenger weights, then any fuel and baggage. The app will show the full table with weight/arm/moment calculations, plus a graphical loading chart at the top.
The other big upgrade is that Aviation W&B Calculator is now available for Android (version 4.1 and up) in addition to iOS. While ForeFlight offers an impressive weight and balance tool of its own, that does require a $99.99/year subscription and is not available on Android. For pilots flying with other apps, or for those who prefer a simple and standalone app, we can recommend Aviation W&B Calculator as a solid option.
Aviation W&B Calculator is available as a free download in the iTunes App Store and the Google Play Store, which allows for two months of trial use. A basic yearly subscription is $4.99 and a pro yearly subscription is $9.99.
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