What is tare weight?

• A. The weight of the aircraft with all fuel and payload.
• B. The weight of the empty aircraft.
• C. The weight of chocks and other items used to hold the aircraft on the scales.
• D. The weight of the aircraft after removing ballast.

Answer: (C)

Tare weight is the weight of the weighing equipment and any items used to place or hold the aircraft on the scales, not part of the aircraft itself. When you weigh an airplane, the scale reading includes these non-aircraft items, so you subtract their weight to obtain the true aircraft weight. This is why chocks and other scale-related equipment contribute to the tare and are not considered the aircraft’s own weight. By contrast, the empty weight is the aircraft’s weight with no payload or usable fuel, and gross weight is the aircraft plus fuel and payload.