Enigma737

Good day. Apart from wake turbulence categories, what is the dividing line between medium lift transport aircraft and heavy lift transport aircraft?

pr00ne

There isn't one. All Air Forces differentiate in a different manner, some don't differentiate at all.

charliegolf

If you can fit what you want in, it's heavy, if you can't, it's medium!

CG

sycamore

2 Engines-medium; 4-engines-heavy....appx.

Herod

Excluding, of course, the Whistling Wheelbarrow

sycamore

Now you are scoring it on `noise`!..2 Allisons would be enough.

pr00ne

So, you would class a Boeing 777 or an Airbus 330 as a medium and a BAE 146 as a heavy?

VERY approx...

Herod

If you're going on noise, the Andover would be considered heavy.

sycamore

prOOne,...from a distance,maybe!
if you rate it on noise,then the B-36 has it...

GlobalNav

Another distinction, perhaps more purpose-based, is strategic versus tactical airlift. The boundaries, of course, are not inviolable, but take for example the strategic airlifts, C-5's, C-17 and the venerable C-141, versus tactical airlifts like the C-130, C-123, C-7 and many others. Distance, capacity, speed distinguish these.