What are the wake categories of aircraft?

• A. Categories A through I
• B. Categories 1-5
• C. Heavy, Medium, Light
• D. Alpha through Delta

Answer: (A)

Wake categories indicate how strong the wake turbulence from an aircraft is, so controllers use them to decide safe separation. In this testing approach, the scale is labeled with letters from A to I, giving a broad range that lets you map different aircraft’s wake strength to appropriate spacing. This lettered system provides more granularity than simpler schemes, because heavier airplanes create stronger vortices and require more room for following aircraft. Other schemes exist—such as numeric scales or common weight-based labels like Heavy/Medium/Light—but they do not use the A–I labeling, so the A through I set is the correct fit here.