Overall Dimensions and Ground Geometry

Every hangar door, every taxiway fillet and every parking box you will ever use is judged against four numbers: how wide the aeroplane is, how long, how tall, and how far apart its wheels sit. Learn them once in both unit systems and the rest of ground handling becomes arithmetic you can do from the cockpit.

At a glance

• Wing span14.57 m (47 ft 10 in)
• Overall length9.17 m (30 ft 1 in)
• Overall height2.82 m (9 ft 3 in)
• Landing gear track2.95 m (9 ft 8 in)
• Landing gear wheelbase1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
• Nose and main wheel size6.00-6

The three principal dimensions

The manual states that all the dimensions given in this chapter are approximate — they are planning figures, not survey measurements.

Overall size

• Wing span — 14.57 m (47 ft 10 in).

• Overall length — 9.17 m (30 ft 1 in).

• Overall height — 2.82 m (9 ft 3 in).

The three-view drawing repeats those figures in millimetres: 9170 mm for the overall length, 2820 mm for the overall height, and 14570 mm for the span, which it records as being measured including the anti-collision light.

Figure: Principal dimensions and ground geometry (redrawn).

Where the aeroplane touches the ground

• Landing gear track — 2.95 m (9 ft 8 in), also given on the three-view as 2950 mm.

• Landing gear wheelbase — 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in), also given as 1910 mm.

• Wheels — both the nose wheel and the main wheels are size 6.00-6; the details are in the Airplane Maintenance Manual.

Track and wheelbase are the pair that decide whether a turn fits: the track sets how much width the main wheels sweep, the wheelbase how tightly the nose wheel can lead them round.

Check yourself

• What are the wing span, overall length and overall height, in both metres and feet?

• What is the landing gear track, and what is the wheelbase?

• What does the three-view drawing say the span measurement includes?

• What size are the nose and main wheels, and where are their details published?

Study aid — always fly your aircraft's current AFM/POH.