Which of the following is NOT a wake category set?

• A. CAT I thru III
• B. Categories A thru I
• C. Small, Large, Heavy and Super
• D. General aviation, military, air taxi and air carrier

Answer: (D)

Wake turbulence categories are based on aircraft weight and are used to determine separation: Small, Large, Heavy, and Super are the weight-based groups ATC uses to estimate wake effects. That set directly reflects how much wake a given aircraft is expected to generate, which is why it’s a wake category set.

The option describing General aviation, military, air taxi and air carrier refers to operating categories—who is operating the aircraft—not how much wake it tends to produce. Wake category sets focus on the aircraft’s wake potential, not on operator type. So that descriptor isn’t a wake category set. The other groupings listed align with different aviation classification schemes (like instrument approach categories or other non-wake classifications), not wake turbulence categories.