by DaveSims » Thu Dec 14, 2006 1:52 am
My understanding of it was 1. for wake turbulence, and 2. for maneuverablility. Obviously a loaded 747 is going to take a good deal of time to change course and/or altitude, as opposed to a lightly loaded 737. When the AN-124 came into our airport, they line up on a long 20 mile straight in to avoid having to maneuver much. And when they had to go around once due to traffic (our airport is uncontrolled), it took a good deal of time and space before they actually stopped descending and started to climb.