Useful load, how important is it to you?

[Ibra]

5 hours ago, bradp said:

So what weighs so much more in @Ibras 81J vs my 77J?  Oxygen? Fiberglass belly? Wingtip fairings?  King avionics? Standby vacuum? I don’t get it.

BK avionics that can make up to 60lbs vs lighter pannel, the other 100lbs I have really no idea??? 

[steingar]

I'm a pipsqueak, and I'm married to a lady pipsqueak.  Useful load has never been a driving concern, I think the only time I had the aircraft at gross I was flying a couple big people. I'd happily loose some more for some extra fuel capacity.  I'd get the extra bladders in a heartbeat had I the coin.

[Bob - S50]

7 hours ago, bradp said:

So what weighs so much more in @Ibras 81J vs my 77J?  Oxygen? Fiberglass belly? Wingtip fairings?  King avionics? Standby vacuum? I don’t get it. 

I don't know about those particular airplanes, but to paraphrase Everett Dirksen, "A pound here, a pound there, pretty soon we're talking real weight."  Here are some examples of things I see when I look at listings.  Many of them are meant to make the plane nicer (and many they do) but they cost us UL.

Speed brakes, thicker glass, articulating seats, bladders, stormscope, radar altimeter, ADF, two transponders, keeping the vacuum pump, a backup vacuum pump, TKS, leather wrapped yokes, old avionics, unremoved wiring, strobe power supplies, ADS-B equipment that piggybacks off the old transponder meaning you are actually adding weight, extended range tanks.  I'm sure there are others.  Other than TKS, most of those are anywhere from 1 to 30 pounds difference each.  Alone they don't make much difference, but together they are huge.

And don't forget errors when calculating W&B changes not to mention errors of calculation if you weigh the plane with fuel in it and then adjust the weight based on how much fuel you think you have.