N00b question

[PlutonianEmpire]

How many pounds is one ton (when weighing aircraft and aircraft load, that is)?

I tried looking it up on wikipedia, but it's all confusing lol.

[Katahu]

Around 2,000lbs in a ton.

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001661.html

[PlutonianEmpire]

thanks. What kind of ton do we use for aircraft?

[expat]

thanks. What kind of ton do we use for aircraft?

As a general rule we don't use Tonnes. Aircraft weight is in Pounds or Kilograms. If we use Tonnes, then comes the question, a metric tonne or an imperial tonne.

Matt

[commoner]

..mmm...in Britain when I went to school and until we "went metric"...........a ton was (is) 2,240 pounds (lbs) .....or 20 hundredweights (cwt) which weigh 112 lbs each ..........a very confusing system compared with metric but a piece of cake to an oldie like me who learnt it parrot fashion at infant school.

..even now something like a pound of apples gives a mental picture of about five apples but a kilo just doesn't quite register in the same way..............commoner

[Hagar]

an imperial tonne.

Where did this word tonne come from? As commoner says it's a ton & is 2,240 lb.

[PlutonianEmpire]

*shakes fist at metrics*

Bring Back Imperialism!

[PlutonianEmpire]

As a general rule we don't use Tonnes. Aircraft weight is in Pounds or Kilograms. If we use Tonnes, then comes the question, a metric tonne or an imperial tonne.

Matt

Then why does Wikipedia use tonnes for weighing 747's?

(sorry for double post)

[eno]

Its a Metric TONNE....... and an Imperial TON.... therein lies the difference.

[Woodlouse2002]

And so a tonne = 1,000kg. While a ton is 2,240lb.


Which means in other words, they're about the same.

[commoner]

...Check in always weigh my luggage in kilograms..........maybe there's a clue there?..............commoner

[expat]

And so a tonne = 1,000kg. While a ton is 2,240lb.


Which means in other words, they're about the same.

Which means in other words, they're about the same, but NOT the same. 1 kg is 2,205 LBS. It is small difference, but makes a difference and when we are talking tons/tonnes, that difference is magnified.

If an aircraft weight is for example 40 tons, a metric conversion, 40,000kg, which equal to 88,200lbs (2,205 lbs to a kg NOT 2,2 lbs) or is it 40 tons imperial which is 89,600lbs. So with an example weight of 40 tons/tonnes, you have a potential difference of 1400lbs or 635kg. Basic ton/tonne to calculate the weight of an aircraft is not accurate enough. Also kg or lb, a lot easier to work out than ton or tonne if you are a non English speaker.

As for Wikipedia, no idea, but in 20 years of working on aircraft I have never seen or heard of an aircraft being weighed in tons or tonnes. The all up weight of an aircraft is of vital importance to a pilot right down to the last lb or kg.  
They generally use examples that are easy for people to understand a ton is a nice round figure. I have seen a 747 likened to a London bus, something along the lines of; A 747-400 all up weight of 875,000 lb, that is the equivalent of 126 London double decker buses. People like things they can equate to.


Matt

[Mushroom_Farmer]

And then there's the American unit of measure where a ton=2,000 lbs and a gallon=128 ounces. Drives me daffy when working on my british Triumph.  ;D

[H]

And then there's the American unit of measure where a ton=2,000 lbs and a gallon=128 ounces. Drives me daffy when working on my british Triumph.  ;D

Last week I was pulling or pushing around pallets with 50 forty pound bags on them (one U.S. ton). This week there are 60 bags on a pallet (160 lbs, or four bags, more than your imperial ton). I much prefer our American ton, thank you.

8)

[commoner]

Last week I was pulling or pushing around pallets with 50 forty pound bags on them (one U.S. ton). This week there are 60 bags on a pallet (160 lbs, or four bags, more than your imperial ton). I much prefer our American ton, thank you.

8)

..........lol.......not if you were about to be given a ton of gold though eh?.............better value from the good old Imperial ton, or even the metric tonne..............commoner.