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Aircraft Characteristics
Landing Gear Configurations:
Landing gear configuration plays a critical role in distributing the weight of an aircraft
and has a significant impact on the design of airfield pavements.


Aircraft Weight:
The lightest measure of an aircrafts weight is known as the Operating Empty Weight
(OEW), the basic weight of the aircraft including crew and all the necessary gear
required for flight but not including payload and fuel.
OEW of an aircraft is used for the design of aircraft that may occupy maintenance
hangers, aircraft storage facilities, or other areas that are not intended to support the
weight of an aircraft when loaded with fuel or payload.
Zero Fuel Weight (ZFW) is the OEW of an aircraft plus the weight of its payload.
Payload is the total revenue producing load which includes the weight of passengers,
their baggage, and cargo.
Maximum Structural Payload is the maximum load which the aircraft is certified to
carry, whether this load be passengers, cargo, or combination of both.
Maximum structural payload is a difference between the zero fuel weight and the
operating empty weight.
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Maximum ramp weight is the maximum weight authorized for ground manoeuvre
including taxi and run-up fuel. As the aircraft taxis between the apron and the end of the
runway, it burns fuel and loses weight.
Maximum gross takeoff weight is the maximum weight authorized at brake release for
takeoff. It excludes taxi and run-up fuel and includes the operating empty weight, trip and
reserve fuel, and payload.
Maximum structural takeoff weight (MSTOW) is the maximum gross takeoff weight
for an aircraft operating at sea level elevation at a temperature of 15 C. It is the
maximum weight that the aircrafts landing gear can support.
Maximum structural landing weight (MLW) is the structural capability of the aircraft
in landing.
On landing, the weight of an aircraft is the sum of the operating empty weight, the
payload, and the fuel reserve, assuming that the aircraft lands at its destination and is not
diverted to an alternate airport (landing weight cannot exceed the maximum structural
landing weight of the aircraft).
Takeoff weight is the sum of the landing weight and the trip fuel (takeoff weight cannot
exceed the maximum structural takeoff weight of the aircraft).
Engine Types:
Performance of an aircraft depends on the type of engine.
Aircraft engines can be grouped into three categories: (i) piston engines, (ii) turbo-props,
and (iii) turbofan (or jet) engines.
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