Cessna 172S Skyhawk SP weight and balance
The 180 hp, four-seat Skyhawk SP. With four 170 lb adults aboard, the 2,550 lb maximum weight - not the aft CG limit - is what limits the fuel: full tanks will not fit. The 47.3 in aft limit comes into play when the load sits far back - a full rear seat and a lot of baggage, most of all in baggage area 2. It is approved for spins only in the utility category, which is a different envelope and a different maximum weight from the one most pilots calculate.
Flying under EASA rules? This is the C172S's mass and balance: the same moments and the same centre-of-gravity limits.
Check this is your variant before you use a number
These are the 172S limits (180 hp, 2,550 lb). Earlier 172s are different aeroplanes for weight and balance: the 172N is 2,300 lb, the 172P 2,400 lb, and the 172R 2,450 lb, with different envelopes. Check the model on your POH title page before you use this.
C172S weight and balance calculator
Non-aerobatic operations: normal flying, stalls except whip stalls, lazy eights, chandelles, and turns up to 60 degrees of bank.
Loaded result
Within limitsCessna 172S Skyhawk SP · Normal category · data checked 2026-10-12
The printed sheet carries the aircraft, the date, every station, all three points of the flight and the full safety notice - free, no sign-up, and it prints offline.
CG envelope
Takeoff and landing plotted against the Cessna 172S Skyhawk SP normal-category envelope.
- Normal envelope
- Takeoff
- Landing
- Fuel burning off
Each point is labelled IN or OUT, and both must sit inside the envelope.
The bar through the takeoff point is how far the CG slides as the adjustable seats run through their published travel: 40.65 to 42.45 in. Both ends stay inside the envelope.
Datum: the lower portion of the front face of the firewall. All arms are inches aft of that (POH Section 2, p. 2-7). Full limits and sources
Loading
Weights in pounds; fuel in US gallons. Arms are fixed by the airframe.
Illustrative only - a mid-range 172S basic empty weight and arm. It is not any real airframe. Replace both numbers from your aircraft W&B record.
POH Figure 6-3: occupant CG 37 in with the seats set for an average occupant, range 34 to 46 in over the seat travel.
Your rule sets it: under 14 CFR 91.151 (VFR), at least 30 minutes at normal cruising speed by day and 45 at night; the EASA and UK minutes are on the fuel reserves page.
Loadouts
Saved on this device only - a loadout is never sent to us.
Breakdown
Weight x arm = moment, per station.
Certificated limits
Datum: the lower portion of the front face of the firewall. All arms are inches aft of that (POH Section 2, p. 2-7).
Normal category
Non-aerobatic operations: normal flying, stalls except whip stalls, lazy eights, chandelles, and turns up to 60 degrees of bank.
| Maximum ramp weight | 2,558 lb |
|---|---|
| Maximum takeoff weight | 2,550 lb |
| Maximum landing weight | 2,550 lb |
| Weight (lb) | Forward limit (in) | Aft limit (in) |
|---|---|---|
| 1,950 | 35.00 | 47.30 |
| 2,550 (max) | 41.00 | 47.30 |
Source: C172S POH Section 2, pp. 2-7 and 2-8.
Utility category
The manoeuvres required for the commercial and instructor certificates, including SPINS. Spins are approved in this category only.
| Maximum ramp weight | 2,208 lb |
|---|---|
| Maximum takeoff weight | 2,200 lb |
| Maximum landing weight | 2,200 lb |
| Weight (lb) | Forward limit (in) | Aft limit (in) |
|---|---|---|
| 1,950 | 35.00 | 40.50 |
| 2,200 (max) | 37.50 | 40.50 |
Loading restriction. The rear seat must not be occupied and the baggage compartment must be empty. The calculator treats a load in any of those places as a violation in this category, not a caution.
Source: C172S POH Section 2, pp. 2-7, 2-8 and 2-9.
Station arms
| Station | Arm (in) | Range (in) | Max (lb) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Front seats (pilot + passenger) | 37.0 | 34.0 to 46.0 | - |
| Rear seats | 73.0 | - | - |
| Fuel (usable) | 48.0 | - | 318 |
| Baggage area 1 | 95.0 | - | 120 |
| Baggage area 2 | 123.0 | - | 50 |
Baggage areas 1 + 2 combined: 120 lb.
Fuel: 53.0 US gallons usable at 6.00 lb per gallon = 318 lb. Only usable fuel is charged to the fuel station - the unusable remainder is already inside the certificated empty weight.
POH Figure 6-3: occupant CG 37 in with the seats set for an average occupant, range 34 to 46 in over the seat travel. The calculator evaluates the envelope at both ends of that travel and says so when the verdict changes, because a load can be inside the envelope with the seats set for an average occupant and outside it with the seats run full aft.
Worked example
Two adults up front (340 lb), 40 of the 53 usable gallons, a 30 lb bag in area 1, burning 18 gal on the trip.
Empty weight 1,663 lb at 40.00 in. Illustrative only - a mid-range 172S basic empty weight and arm. It is not any real airframe. Replace both numbers from your aircraft W&B record.
| Item | Weight (lb) | Arm (in) | Moment (in-lb) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weight (from your W&B record) | 1,663 | 40.0 | 66,520 |
| Front seats (pilot + passenger) | 340 | 37.0 | 12,580 |
| Rear seats | 0 | 73.0 | 0 |
| Fuel (usable) | 240 | 48.0 | 11,520 |
| Baggage area 1 | 30 | 95.0 | 2,850 |
| Baggage area 2 | 0 | 123.0 | 0 |
| Ramp | 2,273 | 41.12 | 93,470 |
| Less start, taxi and runup fuel | -8 | 48.0 | -384 |
| Takeoff | 2,265 | 41.10 | 93,086 |
| Less trip fuel (18 gal) | -108 | 48.0 | -5,184 |
| Landing | 2,157 | 40.75 | 87,902 |
At 2,265 lb the Normal-category limits are 38.15 to 47.30 in, so a takeoff CG of 41.10 in is inside the envelope. Burning the 18 gal of trip fuel at the 48.0 in fuel arm moves the CG forward to 40.75 in at 2,157 lb, against limits of 37.07 to 47.30 in there. Both ends of the flight are inside the envelope, which is the check that matters.
What catches people out on the C172S
- With four 170 lb adults and a light bag, the weight limit comes before the aft limit. On the illustrative airframe (1,663 lb at 40.0 in), they and a 20 lb bag leave room for 32.5 of the 53 usable gallons on the ramp; at the 2,550 lb maximum takeoff weight the CG is then about 45.0 in - 2.3 in inside the 47.3 in aft limit, and still inside it with the front seats run full aft.
- Pound for pound, baggage moves the CG aft the most, and baggage area 2, at 123 in, most of all. On the illustrative airframe (1,663 lb at 40.0 in), four 170 lb adults with 70 lb in area 1 and 50 lb in area 2 put the CG at about 47.4 in - past the aft limit with any amount of fuel. With all 120 lb in area 1 instead it is about 46.9 in at 2,550 lb - inside, until the front seats go full aft.
- Spins are approved ONLY in the utility category - 2,200 lb, aft limit 40.5 in, rear seat empty and the baggage compartment empty. A normal-category "within limits" result says nothing about whether the spin is legal.
- The front seats move. The POH gives the occupant CG range as 34 to 46 in, against 37 in for an average occupant. Running both seats full aft moves 340 lb of occupants 9 in aft, which is about 1.3 in of CG on a 2,300 lb aeroplane. The tool checks both ends of the seat travel and warns when a load that passes at the average position would fail at either end.
- Ramp weight and takeoff weight are different limits, 8 lb apart. The POH sample loading problem sits at exactly 2,558 lb on the ramp, which is 8 lb over MTOW and entirely legal.
- Only the 53 usable gallons are charged to the fuel station. The 3 unusable gallons are already inside the basic empty weight.
Where every figure on this page comes from
- Cessna Model 172S POH / Information Manual, Section 2 (Limitations), Jul 8/98Normal and utility weight limits, both CG envelopes, the baggage placards, the datum and the fuel quantities.
- Cessna Model 172S POH, Section 6 (Weight & Balance / Equipment List)Station arms (Figure 6-3), the front-seat occupant CG range, the usable-fuel arm and the start/taxi/runup allowance (Figure 6-5).
- FAA-H-8083-1B, Aircraft Weight & Balance HandbookThe moment/arm method and the datum convention.
Figures checked - the date of this profile's last data revision, printed on every result and on the planning sheet. Each revision is explained in the corrections log.
FAA Type Certificate Data Sheets are United States government works and are in the public domain. Handbook figures are quoted for identification and reference; KeepBlueUp is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by any manufacturer or aviation authority. Where a figure could not be quoted from a public document it is not on this page at all.