Aircraft Weight and Balance (LIVE virtual classroom)
Did you know that in the past 5 years, 174 participants from 55 countries have taken this course with IATA?
About the course
9-day (36 hours) LIVE virtual classroom course

An all-encompassing course for newcomers to the field of load control. Learn the theories and principles of weight and balance as per the standard IATA Design Manual and Automated Load Sheet. This course prepares you for the Load Controller certification.

Course Code: TALP-01-VC
Course format
- The live sessions of this virtual classroom course are delivered by an official IATA Instructor.
- The course will take you approximately 36 hours to complete and be held over 9 consecutive days.
- There will be 2 live interactive virtual classroom sessions per day, each session will be 120 minutes.
- The live sessions will require your participation, with multiple Q&A sessions and additional time spent on self-study material including projects, research, additional reading and videos.
- Student performance will be based on an assessment.
Technical requirements
Please verify your hardware, software and network to support your upcoming course with IATA Training.
Prerequisites
- Participants should have prior knowledge of airport layouts, operations and facilities.
- Recommended level is Intermediate and Advanced.
- The recommended level of language proficiency is ICAO Operational Level 4 for courses in English or the equivalent level for other languages.
How to register
To arrange in-house training for your company: Complete the in-house training request form or contact the B2B Training Specialist in your region.
Virtual venues
We schedule our virtual classroom courses through one of 3 virtual venues, each in a different time zone for your convenience. For more information, please visit our page on virtual classroom timing or contact our Customer Portal.
Please check the exact schedule of each class below (View more details) and click ‘Register’.
There are no scheduled classes at the moment
What you will learn
Upon completing this course you will be able to:
- Summarize the basic principles of flight, related to aircraft weight and balance
- Recognize the terms used in the field
- Identify the various weights used in the compilation of a load sheet
- Analyze the use of indexes and % Mean Aerodynamic Chord (MAC)
- Recognize the design of trim and table charts
- Review the standard IATA manual load sheet and drop line trim chart and the IATA standard electronic data processed load sheet
Course content
- Basic theory of flight
- Aircraft weights and indexes at different flight stages
- Initial aircraft weights and indexes
- Aircraft operating and structural weights
- Aircraft limiting weights
- Theory of balance
- Balance theory applied to aircraft
- Drop line trim chart and its function
- The manual load/trim sheet and the standard IATA EDP Load/trim sheet compilation
Who should attend
- Ramp/loading/passengers handling supervisors
- Ramp/loading/passengers handling agents
- Airline staff working at an airport
- Ground handling agents and supervisors
- Future load controllers
Certificate awarded
An IATA Certificate of Completion is awarded to participants obtaining a grade of 70% or higher on an assessment. A special distinction is awarded to participants obtaining a grade of 90% or higher.
This course is a step toward earning an IATA Diploma