"Jay Honeck" wrote in message news:lWn_b.380048$xy6.2073697@attbi_s02...
Sand?! I thought that was something only renters did. Don't
owners have plenty of junk in the luggage compartment(s)
already?

For sure! Although, I just cleaned it out (to carry my Mom-in-law's and
Aunt's luggage) the other day, so I'm probably WAY nose-heavy now!

(Back to the original poster: If you think an Arrow is nose heavy with two
in the front seats, try flying a Cherokee with a 6-cylinder engine! We're
always nose heavy, unless we've got two in the back seat, or a case of oil
in the way-back...)

One other thought...

Most pilots are smart enough to do a pre-flight W&B calculation prior
to launching, which is great. There are two additional numbers you
want to calculate: 1) what's happening to my CG as burn my planned
fuel?, and 2) What's my CG with zero fuel? The latter becomes
important if you get caught in bad weather, or have to make an
unplanned diversion. In the case of my Bonanza, the CG moves aft at a
good rate as I burn fuel. The last thing we want to do is land an
outside-the-envelope airplane when the going gets tough.

My flight planning software package taught me this trick, as it always
spits out the zero fuel CG number when it computes weight and balance.

Rob