Helicopter and weight

[Choppychop]

Couldn’t find a helicopter chat so putting it here. Any pilots or enthusiasts around? I had a helicopter flight and everyone was weighed before boarding and seated according to their weight. Everyone was of an average weight - would a few kg on a person really make a difference to the craft depending on where seated? Or is it just standard procedure for every flight? The smallest was sat in the front seat next to the pilot. I understand that. But everyone else was around the same yet it seemed so serious where everyone was placed.

Gravity is a cruel mistress.

Placing can be crucial.

DH and I went in a helicopter and weren't weighed. It was just us and the pilot though and a pleasure flight over Kakadu in The Northern Territory, Aus.

Oh lovely! Mine was over the Grand Canyon.

Yep unfortunately the laws of physics are very good at maths!

A few Kg? No, that wouldn't make a difference. But all aircraft have a very limited allowable range of where the centre-of-gravity can be and still be safe to fly. This is one of those rules of aviation that have been written in blood so pilots are trained to take it seriously.

Helicopters are also particularly sensitive to atmospheric conditions. The amount they can safely lift reduces markedly in hot weather and at high altitudes. So as well as being able to be sure the CoG is safe, they'll want to know the total passenger load so they can work out how much fuel they can safely carry without going over the weight limit for the given weather and location.

Worked in aviation for years with helicopters specifically and yes, it makes a difference. The heaviest person should be sat next to the pilot on a small aircraft to offset the weight of the tail.

That’s interesting because the lightest passenger was placed in the front next to the pilot in this instance (under 50 kg).

😂
<disclaimer> I'm overweight and could easily do with losing 4 stone or more 😁
Edited as I was laughing at your GIf but that doesn't seem to show up

Weight/balance is very definitely a universal aviation "thing" but tends to only get really critical with smaller aircraft/helicopters and as @GasperyJacquesRoberts says operating somewhere and/or high can make it more critical. A lot of the specifics are type dependent so it may well be perfectly OK, perhaps even desireable, to have someone small up front on a particular flight..it's an "it depends".

If you do peruse the aviation safety outlets it's sadly not that uncommon to read of someone coming to grief due to aircraft weight/trim issues, especially in the States where there's a lot of light aircraft activity and a lot of places that are high and relatively hot.

Can no longer edit previous @Choppychop so to add I've just checked and the Grand Canyon rim is up at around 2000 metres/6500 feet above sea level in places, if not more.

That would have a significant effect on peformance (especially if combined with even a slightly warm day) so that would probably explain the weighing.