Published: 13.02.2020 by FVA
As planned for some time, the creation of a final Weight & Balance could now be completed. The aim was to reduce several sources, such as the design data manual, the input of the structural calculator or the “outdated” Weight & Balance, to a single source of truth. Due to the extensive reprocessing required for this purpose, emphasis was also placed on compatibility with the structural calculator and a higher resolution of the masses. The new Weight & Balance includes an expected as well as a pessimistic estimation of the masses, their positions and the resulting moments around the X- and Y-axis. To better track the data, the “Origin” column includes the person who made the estimate, the “Source” column includes the document from which the data was taken, and the “Date” column includes the date when the data was last changed. By merging the sources, the number of masses listed in Weight & Balance has almost quadrupled to over 120. In order to nevertheless ensure clarity and also to simplify compatibility for further calculations, the masses have been assigned to nine groups, such as “Structure (hull)” or “Propulsion system (E-drive)”. In addition, the table now has a filter and search function that provide additional user-friendliness.
Through a Matlab connection, the visualization of the masses is now also possible. This creates a simple possibility for analysis, for example to detect discrepancies at an early stage (see figure below).
Representation of the weight & balance compared with the CAD model of the FVA-30 – here using the example of the positioning of centers of gravity, which was still incorrect at the time
The center of gravity is now calculated for the three configurations purely electric, with range extender and range extender with wingpods. For the two configurations with range extender, only the state with full tanks and empty tanks is initially considered. If necessary, these will be extended to include other states, such as half-full tanks, etc.