Which term describes the rapidly rotating whirlpools of air behind an aircraft due to lift?

• A. Turbulence
• B. Wake Turbulence
• C. Jet Stream
• D. Boundary Layer

Answer: (B)

Wake turbulence describes the strong, rotating air structures shed by an aircraft as it generates lift. When a wing creates lift, air from beneath the wing is pushed downward and outward, causing air to spill around the wingtips. That circulation rolls into a pair of counter-rotating vortices that trail behind the airplane. These whirlpools of air—rapidly rotating and persistent in the wake—can affect following aircraft by producing gusts and vertical motion. This term is distinct from general turbulence, which is random air motion not specifically tied to lift, from the jet stream, a fast-moving high-altitude air current, or from the boundary layer, the thin layer of air in contact with the aircraft’s surface.