An aircraft weighing 300,000 pounds will fall into which weight class?

• A. Light
• B. Medium
• C. Heavy
• D. Superheavy

Answer: (C)

Weight classifications in air operations categorize aircraft by their gross takeoff weight to reflect performance and wake turbulence concerns. Light covers small general aviation aircraft, and medium includes mid-size transport planes. Heavy encompasses the large commercial jets, while superheavy is reserved for the very largest airframes. A 300,000-pound aircraft is much larger than light or medium types and is not in the extremely large superheavy category, so it fits the heavy category. This helps explain why such airplanes require longer takeoff distances and experience stronger wake turbulence, which in turn affects the separation settings used by controllers.