Originally Posted by
Manicured garden
what should be the minimum distance to get closer to another aircraft?
The answer is the distance should be at least the length of the preceding aircraft, except (in EU) in Germany when operating a less than Heavy behind a Heavy which is defined at 200m.
So 737 behind 737 need to be able to fit 737 between tail and nose, 737 behind 777 need be able to fit 777 between tail and nose... except Germany where 737 behind 777 requires 200m.
This distance (preceding aircraft length) prevents the trailing aircraft being damaged by engine jet blast from the preceding aircraft, which generally speaking would have more jet blast the bigger the aircraft...