When is an aircraft considered a heavy?

Just a little curious.

Over about 125t max takeoff weight.

Does that mean a 737 can be a heavy?

Can you get a 737 certified at a takeoff weight that high?

Probably not, so It must have to be a 767-200 or bigger.

Was heavy changed? It use to be 300,000 pounds (150 tons)

It basically includes every widebody aircraft and the Boeing 757 as well as most large military transports. The 757 was added later as it has the wake turbulence profile of a heavy.

Still 300,000lbs. as far as I can tell.

Per FAA notice JO7110.520 , dated 04/04/2010, Heavy is any aircraft with a total weight capacity of 255,000 lbs or greater. aircraft does not have to actually be at that weight just capable of carrying the weight.

I’ve always thought an aircraft was considered a heavy if it has more then 4 wheels on each main gear excluding the front, thanks for the answers though.

This got obsoleted by a JO7110.525, 4/8/2010, which that raised the MTOW limit for heavy aircraft from 255,000 pounds to 300,000 pounds. 7110.525 got obsoleted when it got included into the 7110.65T (bible for ATC), which is where it sits now.

Rationale behind this is that B757-200s have a MTOW of exactly 255,000lbs, but unless configured to exceed it (ATA had that), or you had enough fuel loaded for your flight, the B752 could exceed that, becoming “heavy”. But by the time it reached its destination, it was no longer “heavy”. So each time you had different separation standards, prompting ATC to have to ask if that B752 was heavy or not. Subsequently, all B753s were heavy.

So the limit was raised to 300,000lbs (in line with the rest of the world and ICAO). That’s where it has been at least for the past 2 1/2 years.

BL.