Why would an aircraft use the terminology heavy in their flight call?
andy171773 and Lew W gave you almost the right answer. The ICAO standard is for any aircraft capable of taking off at a gross weight of 300,000 pounds or more to use the term “heavy” in radio communications while below 18,000 feet above sea level. In the US, the threshold for “heavy” is 255,001 pounds or more. The term “heavy” may be omitted after initial contact with ATC. The key word here is CAPABLE. For example, a Boeing 767-200ER with a maximum take – off weight of 395,000 pounds will always be referred to as “heavy” in air traffic communications, even if it is flying at less than 300,000 pounds. The terms light, large, and heavy allow air traffic controllers to give the planes adequate clearance for wake turbulence, and to help the controllers asses the maneuverability of the aircraft, their landing speed, which runway they should land on, etc. It has nothing to do with the amount of fuel, passengers, flight phase, etc. For example, if you hear an aircraft say “Tokyo Tower, this i
