What is the useful load?

What is the useful load?

• A. 450 lbs
• B. 500 lbs
• C. 560 lbs
• D. 571 lbs

Answer: (D)

Useful load is the weight you can carry in the airplane after accounting for its own empty weight, and it equals the difference between the maximum allowable gross weight and the empty weight. In a Cessna 152, the POH typically lists a maximum gross weight of about 1,670 pounds and an empty weight around 1,099 pounds. Subtracting 1,099 from 1,670 gives 571 pounds. That 571 pounds is the maximum payload you can have, including both people and baggage plus the fuel you plan to carry. In practice, you must allocate that 571 pounds between occupants, baggage, and fuel. If you add more fuel, the allowable payload decreases accordingly to stay within theUseful load limit; if you carry heavier occupants or baggage, you must reduce fuel to stay within that limit. The other numerical options don’t align with the typical MTOW minus empty weight difference for this aircraft, so they don’t represent the usable payload capacity.

Useful load is the weight you can carry in the airplane after accounting for its own empty weight, and it equals the difference between the maximum allowable gross weight and the empty weight. In a Cessna 152, the POH typically lists a maximum gross weight of about 1,670 pounds and an empty weight around 1,099 pounds. Subtracting 1,099 from 1,670 gives 571 pounds. That 571 pounds is the maximum payload you can have, including both people and baggage plus the fuel you plan to carry.

In practice, you must allocate that 571 pounds between occupants, baggage, and fuel. If you add more fuel, the allowable payload decreases accordingly to stay within theUseful load limit; if you carry heavier occupants or baggage, you must reduce fuel to stay within that limit. The other numerical options don’t align with the typical MTOW minus empty weight difference for this aircraft, so they don’t represent the usable payload capacity.