How do you find the moment of an item on an aircraft?

• A. Multiply the weight of the item in pounds by its distance from the datum in inches.
• B. Divide the weight by its distance.
• C. Add the weight and the distance.
• D. Subtract the distance from the weight.

Answer: (C)

Moment is the turning effect of a weight about a reference point. To find the moment of an item on an aircraft, multiply its weight (in pounds) by its distance from the datum (in inches). This product gives the moment in inch-pounds and represents how strongly the weight tends to rotate the aircraft around the datum. In weight-and-balance work, you’d then sum all the individual moments to get the total moment and divide by the total aircraft weight to determine the center of gravity. The moment is not obtained by adding, dividing, or subtracting weight and distance—the turning effect comes from weight multiplied by its arm.