What minimum separation should be applied when a MEDIUM aircraft is taking off behind a HEAVY aircraft on the same runway?

When considering minimum separation requirements during takeoff operations on a runway, the separation periods are designed to ensure safety and account for wake turbulence generated by larger aircraft.

In this scenario, a medium aircraft taking off behind a heavy aircraft necessitates a minimum separation of 2 minutes. This is based on established safety protocols that dictate specific time intervals between aircraft types to mitigate the risk of the medium aircraft encountering hazardous wake turbulence produced by the heavy aircraft.

The 2-minute interval allows for enough time for the wake turbulence created by the heavy aircraft to dissipate to a level that will not significantly affect the subsequent takeoff of the medium aircraft. This understanding is crucial in maintaining safe operational standards and ensuring the safe integration of aircraft of varying sizes on the same runway.

Other time intervals would either be excessive or insufficient for this specific circumstance, making the 2-minute separation the correct choice to ensure safety without unnecessarily delaying operations.