licensed empty weight does not. Oil must always be added  to any weight and balance utilizing a licensed empty weight. When the airplane is placed in service, amended weight  and balance documents are prepared by appropriately-  rated maintenance personnel to reflect changes in installed  equipment. The old weight and balance documents are  customarily marked “superseded” and retained in the AFM/ POH. Maintenance personnel are under no regulatory  obligation to utilize the GAMA terminology, so weight  and balance documents subsequent to the original may  use a variety of terms. Pilots should use care to determine  whether or not oil has to be added to the weight and balance  calculations or if it is already included in the figures provided. The weight and balance concept is no different than that of  a single-engine airplane. The actual execution, however, is  almost invariably more complex due to a number of new  loading areas, including nose and aft baggage compartments,  nacelle lockers, main fuel tanks, auxiliary fuel tanks, nacelle  fuel tanks, and numerous seating options in a variety of  interior configurations. The flexibility in loading offered by  the multiengine airplane places a responsibility on the pilot  to address weight and balance prior to each flight. The terms empty weight, licensed empty weight, standard  empty weight, and basic empty weight as they appear on the  manufacturer’s original weight and balance documents are  sometimes confused by pilots. The multiengine airplane is where most pilots encounter the  term “zero fuel weight” for the first time. Not all multiengine  airplanes have a zero fuel weight limitation published in  their AFM/POH, but many do. Zero fuel weight is simply  the maximum allowable weight of the airplane and payload,  assuming there is no usable fuel on board. The actual airplane  is not devoid of fuel at the time of loading, of course. This  is merely a calculation that assumes it was. If a zero fuel  weight limitation is published, then all weight in excess of  that figure must consist of usable fuel. The purpose of a zero  fuel weight is to limit load forces on the wing spars with  heavy fuselage loads. In 1975, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association  (GAMA) adopted a standardized format for AFM/POHs.  It was implemented by most manufacturers in model year  1976. Airplanes whose manufacturers conform to the GAMA  standards utilize the following terminology for weight and  balance: standard empty weight + optional equipment = basic empty  weight Standard empty weight is the weight of the standard airplane,  full hydraulic fluid, unusable fuel, and full oil. Optional  equipment includes the weight of all equipment installed  beyond standard. Basic empty weight is the standard empty  weight plus optional equipment. Note that basic empty weight  includes no usable fuel, but full oil. Airplanes manufactured prior to the GAMA format generally  utilize the following terminology for weight and balance,  although the exact terms may vary somewhat: Assume a hypothetical multiengine airplane with the  following weights and capacities: empty weight + unusable fuel = standard empty weight standard empty weight + optional equipment = licensed  empty weight Empty weight is the weight of the standard airplane, full  hydraulic fluid, and undrainable oil. Unusable fuel is the fuel  remaining in the airplane not available to the engines. Standard  empty weight is the empty weight plus unusable fuel. When  optional equipment is added to the standard empty weight,  the result is licensed empty weight. Licensed empty weight,  therefore, includes the standard airplane, optional equipment,  full hydraulic fluid, unusable fuel, and undrainable oil. The major difference between the two formats (GAMA  and the old) is that basic empty weight includes full oil and  2. Calculate the payload: The useful load is the maximum combination of usable fuel,  passengers, baggage, and cargo that the airplane is capable  of carrying. 1. Calculate the useful load: Basic empty weight ........................ 3,200 lb Zero fuel weight........................... 4,400 lb Maximum takeoff weight.................... 5,200 lb Maximum usable fuel ...................... 180 gal Maximum takeoff weight.................... 5,200 lb Basic empty weight ........................–3,200 lb Useful load............................... 2,000 lb Zero fuel weight............................4,400 lb Basic empty weight ........................–3,200 lb Payload...................................1,200 lb 12-11 Weight and Balance