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2 Answers

C172RG CG with gear retracted

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General Aviation

I am a candidate for a CPL using a Cessna Cutlass 172RG.  The requirement is for the applicant to demonstrate that the weight and CG will be within operating limits for all phases of flight.  This is where things get tricky as the POH has no mention of the CG shift when the gear is retracted back behind the aft baggage compartment.

Clearly their is a shift, but how much is unknown (at least to me, my instructor and the maintenance technician). I spoke with a DPE, and we are guessing that the CG cart is altered to show the aft most CG with gear down, but the actual performance limitations of the aircraft allow for the CG to be aft of the charts limits of 46.5" - but this is our best guess and assumption not something we have been able to confirm in any documentation.

So - any thoughts?

Edit/Post thought - now that I've been (over) thinking this for a day, it dawned on me that the 172RG's nose wheel retractes forward of the aircrafts center of gravity and is farther forward relative to the aft of CG of the main gear.  Is it possible that the forward movement of e nose gear moment is equal to the moment of the aft main gear moment?

Either way, I would love to see something in writing if it exists. 

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2 Answers



  1. Jim F. on Dec 04, 2015

    I would suggest you look a bit closer, because my 1981 172 Cutlass RG PIM does indeed show the specs for a CG movement with a gear swing.

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  2. Best Answer


    Barry Goldberg on Dec 05, 2015

    Jim F – on one hand that wasn’t the most helpful response since you provided no guidance as to where the information could be found. That said it was enough for me to hunt again and find a single line notation in the limitations section (not the Weight and Ballance section) that the moment increases by 2424 lb. inches when the gear retracts.

    So by adding 2424 to the calculated moment, then dividing the moment by the total weight, we get the retracted gear CG.

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