Plain English Meaning
A spot on the runway where you should start your takeoff so you lift off before reaching the place where the aircraft ahead of you lifted off — keeping you above and clear of its wake.
Full Definition
In wake turbulence avoidance, a rotating point is a position on the runway — published in airport remarks or used by ATC — where pilots conducting intersection takeoffs are advised to begin their takeoff roll to remain clear of the wake vortices generated by a preceding heavier aircraft. It marks a location selected so that a following aircraft becomes airborne before reaching the rotation point of the preceding aircraft, reducing the risk of encountering its wingtip vortices.
Context Anchor
Seen in wake turbulence and vortex avoidance procedures, especially when picturing where the disturbed air from a preceding aircraft may be near a runway or flight path.
Derivation
From 'rotate,' the moment a pilot pulls back on the controls during the takeoff roll to lift the nose and become airborne. The 'rotating point' is the spot on the runway where that lift-off happens — yours, or the aircraft ahead of you.
Why Pilots Care
Wake vortices form starting at this point, creating a hazard for any aircraft that flies through the area shortly after a heavy departure.
Analogy
Think of a small whirlpool in water. The water circles around a center, and that center moves with the whirlpool rather than staying fixed in one spot.
Intuition Check
Do not picture a visible dot or fixed marker in the sky. The rotating point is an invisible center of spinning air that moves with the wake and the wind.
Example Sentence 1
Cleared for an intersection departure behind the heavy jet, the pilot noted the rotating point of the preceding aircraft and planned to be airborne well before reaching it.
Example Sentence 2
Avoiding the rotating point reduces the chance of encountering strong wake turbulence from a prior departure.