Established 1981
Simple solutions to complex problems.
American Aeronautics has spent more than forty-five years on a single problem: getting an aircraft loaded correctly, quickly, and without a mistake.
Our story
An engineer, a pilot, and a graph.
American Aeronautics — also known as Fly In CG — was established in 1981 by aerospace engineer and pilot Daniel Scharf. The company originally offered vector calculators for aircraft, and has since created calculators for thousands of aircraft models.
Along the way we built an enormous database of aircraft weight and balance information and histories. It is the reason we can always answer yes to "do you have a calculator for my aircraft?" before the call is over.
Our plotters and graphs continue to be manufactured on site in Northern Illinois using anodized aircraft-grade aluminum. Each vector calculator is produced to order, and quality control is performed before shipment.
Even with the popularity of the iPad and iPhone, the vector calculator and iFly Weight and Balance continue to sell side by side. The two are not in competition — plenty of our customers carry both, because the plotter still works when the battery does not.
Forty-five years
How we got here
-
1981
American Aeronautics is founded
Aerospace engineer and pilot Daniel Scharf establishes the company on a single idea: that weight and balance should be a drawing problem, not an arithmetic problem.
-
The 80s & 90s
From one calculator to thousands
What started as vector calculators for a handful of airframes grows into calculators for thousands of aircraft models, backed by an enormous database of weight and balance information and histories.
-
Today
Aluminum and software, side by side
Plotters are still cut and anodized on site in Northern Illinois. Alongside them, iFly Weight & Balance brings the same method to iPad and iPhone — with the same customization behind it.
Industry advocacy
Helping write the standards
Accurate weight and balance isn’t only our product — it’s a professional commitment. We serve on the Society of Aircraft Performance and Operations Engineers weight and balance tiger team, where we have been a principal author of whitepapers that set industry standards. We work with the NBAA on operational weight and balance compliance under AC 120-27, and serve as a subject matter expert on aircraft weight and balance for the Society of Allied Weight Engineers.
We also consult directly with operators, building weight and balance programs that earn approval and hold up to scrutiny.
-
SAPOE
Society of Aircraft Performance and Operations Engineers
Weight and balance tiger team. Principal author on whitepapers setting industry standards.
-
NBAA
National Business Aviation Association
Operational weight and balance compliance under AC 120-27.
-
SAWE
Society of Allied Weight Engineers
Subject matter expert, aircraft weight and balance.
How we work
Simple Solutions to Complex Problems
Made to order, not off the shelf
Each calculator is produced for a specific aircraft and quality controlled before it ships. There is no generic version of our product, because there is no generic aircraft.
Rapid application development
Our software team uses a unique rapid application development cycle to build customized, affordable solutions — which is why a new configuration does not mean a new project timeline.
We answer the phone
Flight departments have told us for over 45 years that turnaround on new requests and support on existing products is what keeps them here. That is deliberate.
Tell us your aircraft. We build the rest.
Every iFly license is configured for your exact aircraft and serial number. Call, email, or send us the specifics and we will come back with a quote.