David Rind wrote:

You are clearly right about this

Thank you for the gracious reply.

-- I was thinking in terms
of rate of climb, not angle of climb. That said, I would
still be more interested in making an early turn than in trying
to climb quickly and would always ask for an early turnout
in this situation....

In this particular case (taking off right after a jet), at Vx you will reach
turning altitude in less distance and more time, both of which work in your
favour:

- less distance means that you are at a safe turning altitude further away
from the point where your climb path would intersect the jet's climb path

- more time means that the the jet's wake vortices have had more opportunity
to dissipate by the time you turn.

Or, to put it the other way, if you climb at Vy you will arrive closer to
the jet's climb path, sooner, before you reach a point when you can turn.

On the other hand, if there were a jet waiting to take off behind me and I
wanted to get out of the way as soon as possible (i.e. ATC says "right turn
to heading XXX as soon as safely able"), then Vy is the better choice, since
I want to get to turning altitude in the least time.


All the best,


David