Michelle P wrote:

Why would anyone who is smuggling anything of flying under the radar so
to speak care about the legalities of Gross weight and Within balance?

Well, to avoid a stall-spin on takeoff, for one thing. Were I smuggling stuff or
people, I pobably wouldn't be horribly concerned with exceeding the maximum
gross weight limitations, but I would certainly want to keep things inside the
vertical boundaries of the envelope.

George Patterson
He who marries for money earns every penny of it.