Defining an aircraft as "Heavy"

[NS9710]

How does an aircraft get denoted as a "Heavy" aircraft?

Also when I hear them say "Climbing Three Zero Zero" is that 300,000 ft or how does this work? I'm fairly new to this, and find it interesting, I had some fleeting interests in the past but nothing major, now I'm finding this all interesting as of late, so am curious about all this, is there an online glossary for these terms I'd hear as the aircraft goes about calling details over the air? Thanks in advance.

 

[Citywide173]

"Heavy" is any plane with a takeoff weight of 300,000 lbs or more. Three-Zero-Zero would be 30,000 feet, Three-Three-Five would be 33,500 feet.

 

[nd5y]

When they say "flight level" followed by a 3 digit number it means:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_level

 

[doctordialtone]

30,000 ft and above

How does an aircraft get denoted as a "Heavy" aircraft?

Also when I hear them say "Climbing Three Zero Zero" is that 300,000 ft or how does this work? I'm fairly new to this, and find it interesting, I had some fleeting interests in the past but nothing major, now I'm finding this all interesting as of late, so am curious about all this, is there an online glossary for these terms I'd hear as the aircraft goes about calling details over the air? Thanks in advance.

"Heavy" means passengers or cargo on board exceeding 300,000 lbs.

"Three Zero Zero" is to 30,000 ft



I'm sure an expert will chime in...

 

[nd5y]

"Flight Level" is used for altitudes over 30,000 I believe.

In North America it's 18,000 ft.

 

[nd5y]

All questions of this type are answered in the Aeronautical Information Manual and Pilot/Controller Glossary which you can download at https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/ under Manuals and Publications.

 

[Scannerham62]

300,000 feet? Wow that's outer space man!

 

[alcahuete]

As far as heavy, it is NOT based on the passengers or cargo on board. It is based on the certified Maximum Take Off Weight (MTOW). It is a capable weight, not necessarily an active weight.

A 767-300ER, for example, has an empty weight of ~178,000 - ~200,000 pounds depending on the engine variants. It can make a flight at that weight (well...you'd need some fuel too, of course, and a couple pilots) and would still be classified as a Heavy, even though it is well below its MTOW.

To get the altitude from flight levels, as mentioned, you can just add 2 zeros to the end.

FL180 = 18,000
FL300 = 30,000
FL410 = 41,000
FL600 = 60,000

etc.

 

[majoco]

Different countries have different "transition altitudes" manly based on the local terrain and the mountain peaks. As someone said, in the US it's 18,000ft, here in NZ it's 13,000ft. So below the transition altitude, altimeters are set to what they are advised is the local QNH, the air pressure with reference to "Above mean sea level" by ATC, so you will hear aircraft say their altitude as "One zero thousand feet" as read off their altimeter. Once you go above the transition altitude, everybody sets their altimeter to 1032millibars or 29.92inches. Then all altitudes are expressed in "Flight level" - so as 'alcahuete' says you report or are told to go to "Flight Level three five zero" meaning 35,000ft indicated - may not necessarily be the real altitude AMSL bu everyone is on the same songsheet so it doesn't matter. Aircraft on opposing tracks are usually 1000 feet apart, same tracks 2000ft apart. You will not be assigned a QNH altitude above the transition altitude because you could easily be a thousand feet out with disastrous results.

 

[DaveNF2G]

In the US, transition altitude seems to be based on atmospheric science. One-half of Earth's atmosphere (by mass) is below 18,000 feet above the average surface.

 

[AI7PM]

As far as heavy, it is NOT based on the passengers or cargo on board. It is based on the certified Maximum Take Off Weight (MTOW). It is a capable weight, not necessarily an active weight.
.

That^^^^^^^ is the correct answer.

 

[ATCTech]

Followed above that by the super heavy category, as in the A380. Radio designation "Super", as in "Emirates 212 Super".

 

[alcahuete]

Yep. Super is Airbus A-380-800 (A388) and Antonov An-225 (A225). Those are the only 2 aircraft currently with the Super designation.

 

[fxdscon]

Yep. Super is Airbus A-380-800 (A388) and Antonov An-225 (A225). Those are the only 2 aircraft currently with the Super designation.

Is there a defined MTOW threshold to have the "super" designation?

.

 

[ATCTech]

I think I read 560,000kg would be the approximate anticipated MTOW for the A388, but most documentation I see only shows it as a "Super Heavy" as there doesn't appear to be a specific value as a numerical demarcation.

 

[alcahuete]

Nope, there is no weight designation for Super, at least not here in the states.

Heavy covers everything with a MTOW of 300,000 lbs or more, which would technically include the two supers, under normal circumstances. However, the special Super category was created due to the extreme wake turbulence those two aircraft (specifically the A380) produce.


2-8. Aircraft Weight Class

a. J – Super. AIRBUS A-380-800 (A388) and ANTONOV An-225 (A225)

b. H – Heavy. Aircraft capable of takeoff weights of 300,000 pounds or more whether or not they are
operating at this weight during a particular phase of flight.

c . L – Large. Aircraft of more than 41,000 pounds, maximum certificated takeoff weight, up to but not
including 300,000 pounds.

d. S – Small. Aircraft of 41,000 pounds or less maximum certificated takeoff weight.

 

[RayAir]

In the US, transition altitude seems to be based on atmospheric science. One-half of Earth's atmosphere (by mass) is below 18,000 feet above the average surface.

Class A airspace starts at 18,000.

 

[DaveNF2G]

Class A airspace starts at 18,000.

Probably for the same reason.

 

[DaveNF2G]

The weight classes used on the radio (and ADS-B) have more to do with the wake turbulence profile of the aircraft than its actual mass. That is why the Boeing 757 has its own class (A4). There is no room in the class A series for an additional category such as Super Heavy because they are hex numbers 0-7 and all eight classifications are assigned.