Using AI to Improve Aircraft Weight and Balance Safety

Aircraft industry innovators are leveraging the power of artificial intelligence to develop new, on-aircraft, weight and balance (W&B) technology designed to increase safety by producing accurate, real-time measurements and reducing potential dangers from human error.

Of course, weight and balance is critical to safe flight operations because it directly affects aircraft performance, stability and controllability. An overloaded aircraft may struggle to takeoff, climb or maintain altitude, while an improperly balanced aircraft can become dangerously unstable and difficult to control, especially during takeoff and landing.

Texas-based Avix Aero’s Onboard Weight and Balance System (OBWBS) automates manual, assumption-based calculations with accurate, real-time measurements of aircraft weight and center of gravity (CG).

CEO Bill Tiffany said one of the primary advantages of the Avix system is its ability to accurately measure the weight and CG of the aircraft, thereby eliminating any potential for human and process errors.

“Weight and CG errors are one of the most significant issues plaguing safe aircraft operations today,” Tiffany said, citing the European Union Aviation Safety Agency. “They are borne out of heavily manual, assumption-based calculations and loading processes.”

Abomis Innovations, a Canadian IT company specializing in airport software, uses an approach that differs fundamentally from traditional systems. Instead of manual calculations and fragmented workflows, Abomis uses what it calls an intelligent, AI-driven platform that automates and verifies key decisions, which it says significantly reduces the risk of human error.

“A major strength of our solution is its seamless integration with BRS (baggage reconciliation systems),” said Abomis Product Owner Mike Masha. “This allows our weight-and-balance engine to access highly precise weight data for baggage and cargo in each compartment or ULD [Unit Load Device], based directly on inputs from airport scales.”

Weight and Balance Innovations in Business Aircraft

While most weight and balance systems have historically been aimed at commercial airliners, business aviation also requires solutions that positively and directly impact safe operations. According to Tiffany, business aircraft are a key market.

“With the variation in passenger, cargo and fuel volumes in business aircraft, the benefit of confidently knowing aircraft weight and CG once the aircraft loading is complete is valuable for safety and a selling point for business aircraft operators,” Tiffany said.

Because business aviation includes a wide range of aircraft types, each with unique characteristics and performance parameters, experts said adapting W&B systems for smaller, diverse aircraft types presents unique technical and operational challenges. “Customizing the W&B system to accommodate these variations requires significant effort in terms of software development and data modeling,” Albright said.

Abomis’ platform has also been designed to support various aircraft types.
“While our current focus has been on commercial and international operators, we also recognize significant potential within the business aviation segment,” Masha said. “We are actively exploring a tailored version of our platform for that market.”

Beyond automation and integration, Abomis is also moving aviation tech toward a more paperless, environmentally conscious and cost-effective future.

“We’ve developed a mobile application compatible with iOS and Android tablets that enables pilots to view, electronically sign and send the load sheet within their electronic flight folder,” Masha said.

Making Critical Safety Weight and Balance Adjustments

New weight and balance technology offers several advancements over traditional methods, providing significant improvements for operators.

For example, the process of curtailment – adjusting or restricting an aircraft’s permissible weight and balance envelope to account for operational variables to ensure safe operations. This is done by reducing manufacturer limits to account for factors such as passenger weight variations as well as inflight movement of people and fluids aboard the aircraft.

“By having a clear, integrated solution, pilots can quickly and accurately follow the necessary steps to ensure the aircraft remains within safe operational limits,” said Gene Albright, senior vice president of operations at Colorado-based Aircraft Performance Group (APG).

Unlike traditional methods that apply fixed curtailment solutions based on worst-case conditions, APG said its technology calculates required curtailments in real time for the actual load on the airplane, resulting in greater loading flexibility and avoiding overly restrictive CG envelopes.

The company also said its system can calculate required curtailments in real-time based on the actual load on the aircraft.

“This real-time calculation ensures that the aircraft is always operated within safe CG limits, even as loading conditions change, while also helping prevent unsafe loading scenarios that could compromise flight safety,” said Albright.

Weight and balance calculations in conventional systems rely heavily on load controllers, who must perform time-sensitive tasks with precision, but Avix’s OBWBS can accurately measure aircraft weight and center of gravity by effectively turning “landing gear struts into a set of scales that fold up and fly around with the aircraft,” according to Tiffany.

The system accomplishes this “by integrating artificial intelligence to collect and process weight and balance data in real time,” he said. The system automates the process and performs intelligent validation using multiple data sources.

Overall, these companies say their innovations improve safety measurably. As the industry continues to develop AI-driven weight-and-balance technology, the goal will be increasingly safer operations and more reliable aircraft performance.