Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this is a bad system, I'm just not sure I agree it
is an industry standard...
The FAA uses positive numbers towards the tail in specifying longitudinal weight and balance limits in the TCDS; all weight and balance calculations I've seen so far (textbooks, POH's, software) also use a positive number towards the tail in the longitudinal axis. I think that any small-aircraft pilot or mechanic would find a coordinate system that was positive towards the nose simply bizarre.
The Y and Z axes are not so obvious, because we don't work with those numbers so regularly (pilots don't do a lateral or vertical balance computation before every flight, but mechanics do have to balance planes laterally before weighing them). I just took a glance at the stations in the service and maintenance manual for the PA-28-151/161, and the technical drawings have measurements positive towards the tail in the longitudinal (x) axis and positive upwards in the vertical (Z) axis. In the lateral (y) axis, they use positive in *both* directions (go figure).
All the best,
David
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