List of large aircraft

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A size comparison of five of the largest aircraft: .mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{} Airbus A380 Antonov An-225 Mriya Boeing 747-8 Hughes H-4 Hercules Stratolaunch Giant planes comparison.svg
A size comparison of five of the largest aircraft:

This is a list of large aircraft, including three types: fixed wing, rotary wing, and airships.

Contents

The US Federal Aviation Administration defines a large aircraft as any aircraft with a certificated maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of more than 12,500 lb (5,700 kg) [1]

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) defines a large aircraft as either "an aeroplane with a maximum take-off mass of more than 12,566.35 pounds (5,700.00 kilograms) or a multi-engined helicopter." [2]

Fixed-wing

Antonov An-225 Antonov 225 (2010).jpg
Antonov An-225
TypeFirst flightRoleBuiltLengthSpan MTOW CapacityNotes
Ilya Muromets 1913airliner/bomber85+19.13 yards (17.49 meters)32.58 yards (29.79 meters)4.527 tons Pax: 16First multi-engine aircraft in serial production, Russky Vityaz development
Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI 1916Bomber5624.168 yards (22.099 meters)46.15 yards (42.20 meters)11.613 tonsLargest WWI aircraft in regular service
Tarrant Tabor 1919Bomber124.38 yards (22.29 meters)43.74 yards (40.00 meters)19.97 tons4.1 tCrashed on first flight
Dornier Do X 12 Jul 1929Flying boat343.74 yards (40.00 meters)52.27 yards (47.80 meters)51.1787 tonsPax: 100Then longest, widest and heaviest
Kalinin K-7 11 Aug 1933Transport130.62 yards (28.00 meters)57.96 yards (53.00 meters)45.77 tonsPax: 120Widest aircraft until the Tupolev ANT-20
Tupolev ANT-20 19 May 1934Transport235.979 yards (32.899 meters)68.8976 yards (63.0000 meters)52.16 tonsPax: 72Widest and heaviest until the Douglas XB-19
Douglas XB-19 27 Jun 1941Bomber144.07 yards (40.30 meters)70.65 yards (64.60 meters)72.34 tonsLongest until the Laté. 631, widest until the B-36, heaviest until the Martin Mars
Messerschmitt Me 323 20 Jan 1942Transport19870.65 yards (64.60 meters)60.37 yards (55.20 meters)42.32 tons11.81 tonsHighest cargo capacity land-based World War II transport
Martin JRM Mars 23 Jun 1942Flying boat739.04 yards (35.70 meters)66.71 yards (61.00 meters)73.62 tons14.76 tonsHeaviest until the Junkers 390, Largest serial production flying boat
Latécoère 631 4 Nov 1942Flying boat1147.57 yards (43.50 meters)62.77 yards (57.40 meters)70.27 tonsPax: 46Longest until the Convair B-36
Junkers Ju 390 20 Oct 1943Bomber237.40 yards (34.20 meters)55.01 yards (50.30 meters)74.31 tons9.84 tonsHeaviest until the BV 238, Junkers entry for the Amerika Bomber project
Blohm & Voss BV 238 Apr 1944Flying boat147.35 yards (43.30 meters)65.84 yards (60.20 meters)98.42 tonsHeaviest built during WWII, destroyed in 1945
Convair B-36 8 Aug 1946Bomber38454.02 yards (49.40 meters)76.66 yards (70.10 meters) 183.06 tonsHeaviest until the B-52, longest and widest until the Hughes H-4
Hughes H-4 Hercules (Spruce Goose)2 Nov 1947Flying boat172.94 yards (66.70 meters)106.95 yards (97.80 meters)177.15 tonsLongest until the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy and widest until the Stratolaunch
Convair XC-99 23 Nov 1947Transport160.80 yards (55.60 meters)76.66 yards (70.10 meters)142.71 tons44.28 tonsB-36 development, most capable transport aircraft until the An-22
Boeing B-52 15 Apr 1952Bomber74453.04 yards (48.50 meters)61.68 yards (56.40 meters)216.525 tonsHeaviest until the XB-70, still in service
XB-70 21 Sep 1964Bomber261.68 yards (56.40 meters)34.99 yards (31.99 meters)242.115 tonsHeaviest until the An-22, Mach 3 prototype bomber
Antonov An-22 27 Feb 1965Transport6863.32 yards (57.90 meters)70.43 yards (64.40 meters)246.05 tons80 tHeaviest until the C-5, Heaviest turboprop aircraft
Caspian Sea Monster 16 Oct 1966 Ekranoplan 1100.61 yards (92.00 meters)41.12 yards (37.60 meters)37.6 m535.41 tonsHeaviest and longest flying vehicle until the An-225, 1980 crash
Lockheed C-5 Galaxy 30 Jun 1968Transport13182.34 yards (75.29 meters)74.26 yards (67.90 meters)410.41 tons125.49 tonsLargest payload capacity until the An-124
Boeing 747 9 Feb 1969Airliner155777.32 yards (70.70 meters)65.18 yards (59.60 meters)406.86 tonsPax: 550/660Highest passenger capacity airliner until the Airbus A380
Antonov An-124 26 Dec 1982Transport5575.57 yards (69.10 meters)80.16 yards (73.30 meters)395.65 tons147.63 tonsMost capable transport until the An-225
Antonov An-225 Mriya 21 Dec 1988Transport191.86 yards (84.00 meters)96.68 yards (88.40 meters)629.89 tons246.05 tonsHeaviest aircraft and most capable transport, destroyed in 2022
Airbus Beluga 13 Sep 1994Outsize cargo561.46 yards (56.20 meters)48.99 yards (44.80 meters)152.55 t1,961.93 cubic yards (1,500.00 cubic meters) Airbus A300 derivative, largest volume until the Dreamlifter
Airbus A380 27 Apr 2005Airliner25479.51 yards (72.70 meters)87.27 yards (79.80 meters)565.92 tonsPax: 850Highest passenger capacity airliner
Boeing Dreamlifter 9 Sep 2006Outsize cargo478.41 yards (71.70 meters)70.43 yards (64.40 meters)358.25 tons2,406.63 cubic yards (1,840.00 cubic meters) Boeing 747-400 derivative, largest volume until the BelugaXL
Airbus BelugaXL 19 Jul 2018Outsize cargo669.01 yards (63.10 meters)65.945 yards (60.300 meters)223.41 tons2,889.26 cubic yards (2,209.00 cubic meters) Airbus A330 derivative, largest volume
Stratolaunch 13 Apr 2019 Air launch 179.83 yards (73.00 meters)127.95 yards (117.00 meters) 580.68 t246.052 tCurrent heaviest and widest, prototype air-launch-to-orbit carrier

Projects

TypeProposedMTOWNotes
Poll Triplane 1917 (circa)50 m wingspan [3]
Victory Bomber 1940/194147.2 tons52 m wingspan, to carry a ten-ton earthquake bomb, rejected by the RAF [4]
Boeing 2707 SST1960s301.17 tonsA 93 m long Concorde answer, canceled in 1971
Lockheed CL-1201 1960s6318.61 tons Nuclear-powered, 1,120 feet (340 m) wing span, airborne aircraft carrier
Boeing RC-1 1970s1584.57 tons"flying pipeline", proposed before the 1973 oil crisis
Conroy Virtus 1974379.90 tons140 m wingspan, to carry Space Shuttle parts
Beriev Be-2500 1980s2460.57 tonsSuper heavy amphibious transport aircraft
Beriev Be-50001980s4921.03 tonsTwin fuselage Be-2500
McDonnell Douglas MD-12 1990423.21 tonsProposed double deck airliner, canceled in mid-1990s
Boeing New Large Airplane 1990s523.6 tons747 replacement powered by 777 engines, canceled in the 1990s
Aerocon Dash 1.6 wingship 1990s4921.03 tpmsUS ground effect aircraft, developed with Russian consultation
Tupolev Tu-404 1990s595.45 tons Blended wing body airliner for 1,214 passenger, 110 m wingspan [5]
Sukhoi KR-860 1990s639.73 tonsTransport for 300 t payload or 860-1,000 passengers Double deck airliner
Boeing 747X 1996465.53 tons747-400 stretch, Airbus A3XX competitor
Boeing Pelican 20022657.36 tonsGround effect and medium altitude transport
Airbus A380-900 2006580.68 tonsAirbus A380-800 stretch, postponed in May 2010 [6]
TsAGI HCA-LB 2010s984.21 tons Ground effect aircraft powered by LNG
Skylon current339.55 tonsReusable spaceplane
WindRunner current Outsize cargo freight aircraft: 108 m long, 80 m wingspan. [7] [8]

Rotary-wing

Aeroflot Mil V-12 at Groningen Airport in May 1971 Aeroflot Mil V-12 (Mi-12) Groningen Airport.jpg
Aeroflot Mil V-12 at Groningen Airport in May 1971
TypeFirst flightMTOWNumber builtNotes
Cierva W.11 Air Horse 7 December 19488 t1three rotor helicopter
Hughes XH-17 23 October 195223 t1Prototype heavy-lift helicopter, largest rotor at 39.6 m
Mil Mi-6 5 June 195744 t926Heavy transport helicopter, 35 m rotor
Mil V-12 or Mi-1210 July 1968105 t2Largest prototype helicopter, 2 × 35 m rotors
Mil Mi-26 14 December 197756 t316Heaviest serial production helicopter
Fairey Rotodyne 6 November 195715 t1Largest gyrodyne. Prototype for 40 passengers
Kamov Ka-22 15 August 195942.5 t4composite rotorcraft
Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey 19 March 198921.5 t400First operational VTOL tiltrotor

Proposals

Lighter than air

Large balloons
TypeDateVolumeDescription
Preusen ("Prussia")19018,400 m3 [9] German experimental prototype
CL75 AirCrane2001110,000 m3 CargoLifter experimental prototype, approximately 120.6 tonnes with helium fill
Large airships
TypeFirst flightVolumeLengthNotes
Zeppelin LZ 1 190011,300 m3 [9] 128 mGerman experimental prototype
R38 (US: ZR-2)192177,100 m3 [10] 212 mUK military, built for US Navy
R100 1929193,970 m3216 mUK experimental passenger transport
HM Airship R101 14 Oct 1929156,000 m3236 mFollowed by the smaller 146,000 m3 R100 (220 m) on 16 Dec 1929
US Navy USS Akron 8 Aug 1931180,000 m3239 mLargest helium-filled airship along its USS Macon sister ship
LZ 129 Hindenburg 4 Apr 1936200,000 m3245 mLargest volume along with its LZ130 Graf Zeppelin II sister ship, approximately 237.2 tonnes with hydrogen fill
Hindenburg airship compared with the largest fixed-wing aircraft Giant Aircraft Comparison.svg
Hindenburg airship compared with the largest fixed-wing aircraft

Proposals

See also

Related Research Articles

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An airship, dirigible balloon or dirigible is a type of aerostat (lighter-than-air) aircraft that can navigate through the air flying under its own power. Aerostats use buoyancy from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air to achieve the lift needed to stay airborne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aviation</span> Design, development, production, operation and use of aircraft

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References

  1. ↑ Schoolcraft, Don, FAA Definitions begining[sic] with the letter L., Aviation Safety Bureau
  2. ↑ EASA Regulation – Amendment of Implementing Rule 2042/2003, Version 1 (PDF). 13 January 2012. p. 4. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  3. ↑ Gunston, Bill, 1991. Giants of the Sky: The Largest Aeroplanes of All Time. Sparkford, UK: Patrick Stephens Limited.
  4. ↑ Buttler, Tony. Secret Projects: British Fighters and Bombers 1935 -1950 Midland Publishing, 2004. ISBN   1-85780-179-2.
  5. ↑ ""404" Tupolev". testpilot.ru. Archived from the original on 14 July 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  6. ↑ "A380-900 and freighter both on 'back-burner': Enders". Flight International. 20 May 2010. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
  7. ↑ "World's largest aircraft delivers colossal cargo to makeshift airstrips". 18 March 2024.
  8. ↑ "WSJ News Exclusive | How the World's Biggest Plane Would Supersize Wind Energy". 13 March 2024.
  9. 1 2 Ege, L,; "Balloons and Airships", Blandford (1973).
  10. ↑ "R38/ZR2". The Airship Heritage Trust. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  11. ↑ Hunt, Julian David; Byers, Edward; Balogun, Abdul-Lateef; Leal Filho, Walter; Colling, Angeli Viviani; Nascimento, Andreas; Wada, Yoshihide (2019), "Using the jet stream for sustainable airship and balloon transportation of cargo and hydrogen", Energy Conversion and Management: X, 3: 100016, Bibcode:2019ECMX....300016H, doi: 10.1016/j.ecmx.2019.100016 , S2CID   201317285
  12. ↑ MACCORMACK, JOHN. "Artist wants to float 1,000-foot balloon over Texas". Chron. Retrieved 28 March 2024.

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