Which unit is used to express lateral imbalance between tanks?

• A. Liters
• B. Pounds
• C. Kilograms
• D. Gallons

Answer: (B)

Lateral imbalance is about the difference in weight between the left and right tanks, so you quantify it as a weight difference. In aircraft weight-and-balance practice, this difference is expressed in a weight unit because the imbalance creates a tipping moment around the center of gravity. Volume units like liters or gallons don’t directly represent how much load is contributing to the imbalance. Kilograms is a valid weight unit, but for U.S. Navy aircraft data, pounds is the standard unit used for expressing such weight differences. So the unit used to express lateral imbalance between tanks is pounds.