List of large aircraft
This is a list of large aircraft, including three types: fixed wing, rotary wing, and airships.
A size comparison of five of the largest airplanes:
Airbus A380-800
Antonov An-225 Mriya
The US Federal Aviation Administration defines a large aircraft as any aircraft with a certificated maximum takeoff weight 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 5,700 kilograms (12,600 pounds) or a multi-engined helicopter."[2]
Fixed-wing
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Antonov An-225, the current heaviest airplane
| Aircraft | First flight | Type | Built | Length | Span | MTOW | Capacity | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI | 1916 | Bomber | 56 | 22.1 m | 42.2 m | 11.8 t | Largest WWI aircraft in regular service | |
| Dornier Do X | 12 Jul 1929 | Flying boat | 3 | 40 m | 47.8 m | 52 t | Pax: 100 | then longest, widest and heaviest |
| Kalinin K-7 | 11 Aug 1933 | Transport | 1 | 28 m | 53 m | 46.5 t | Pax: 120 | longest aircraft until the XB-19 |
| Tupolev ANT-20 | 19 May 1934 | Transport | 2 | 32.9 m | 63 m | 53 t | Pax: 72 | Widest and heaviest until the XB-19 |
| Douglas XB-19 | 27 Jun 1941 | Bomber | 1 | 40.3 m | 64.6 m | 73.5 t | Longest until the BV 238, widest until the B-36, heaviest until the Martin Mars | |
| Messerschmitt Me 323 | 20 Jan 1942 | Transport | 198 | 28.2 m | 55.2 m | 43 t | 12 t | most capable land-based World War II transport |
| Martin JRM Mars | 23 Jun 1942 | Flying boat | 7 | 35.7 m | 61 m | 74.8 t | 15 t | heaviest until the Ju 390, Largest serial production flying boat |
| Junkers Ju 390 | 20 Oct 1943 | Bomber | 2 | 34.2 m | 50.3 m | 75.5 t | 10 t | Heaviest until the BV 238, Junkers entry for the Amerika Bomber project |
| Blohm & Voss BV 238 | Apr 1944 | Flying boat | 1 | 43.3 m | 60.2 m | 100 t | Heaviest built during WWII, longest until the B-36, destroyed in 1945 | |
| Convair B-36 | 8 Aug 1946 | Bomber | 384 | 49.4 m | 70.1 m | 186 t | Heaviest until the B-52, longest and widest until the H-4 | |
| Hughes H-4 Hercules | 2 Nov 1947 | Flying boat | 1 | 66.7 m | 97.8 m | 180 t | longest until the C-5 and widest until the Stratolaunch | |
| Convair XC-99 | 23 Nov 1947 | Transport | 1 | 55.6 m | 70.1 m | 145 t | 45 t | B-36 development, most capable transport aircraft until the An-22 |
| Boeing B-52 | 15 Apr 1952 | Bomber | 744 | 48.5 m | 56.4 m | 220 t | Heaviest until the XB-70, still in service | |
| North American XB-70 | 21 Sep 1964 | Bomber | 2 | 56.4 m | 32.0 m | 246 t | Heaviest until the An-22, Mach 3 prototype bomber | |
| Antonov An-22 | 27 Feb 1965 | Transport | 68 | 57.9 m | 64.4 m | 250 t | 80 t | Heaviest until the C-5, Heaviest turboprop aircraft |
| Caspian Sea Monster | 16 Oct 1966 | Ekranoplan | 1 | 92 m | 37.6 m | 544 t | longest flying vehicle and heaviest until the An-225, tested for 15 years until 1980 crash | |
| Lockheed C-5 Galaxy | 30 Jun 1968 | Transport | 131 | 75.3 m | 67.9 m | 417 t | 127.5 t | Heaviest and longest aircraft until the An-225, most capable transport until the An-124 |
| Boeing 747 | 9 Feb 1969 | Airliner | 1,557 | 70.7 m | 59.6 m | 378 t | Pax: 550/660 | Most capable airliner until the Airbus A380 |
| Antonov An-124 | 26 Dec 1982 | Transport | 55 | 69.1 m | 73.3 m | 402 t | 150 t | most capable transport until the An-225 |
| Antonov An-225 Mriya | 21 Dec 1988 | Transport | 1 | 84 m | 88.4 m | 640 t | 250 t | Heaviest aircraft and most capable transport |
| Airbus Beluga | 13 Sep 1994 | Outsize cargo | 5 | 56.2 m | 44.8 m | 155 t | 1,500 m³ | A300 derivative, largest volume until the Dreamlifter |
| Airbus A340-600 | 23 Apr 2001 | Airliner | 97 | 75.4 m | 63.5 m | 380 t | Pax: 440 | longest in serial production until the 2010 Boeing 747-8 |
| Airbus A380 | 27 Apr 2005 | Airliner | 242 | 72.7 m | 79.8 m | 575 t | Pax: 850 | Most capable airliner, heaviest and widest in serial production |
| Boeing Dreamlifter | 9 Sep 2006 | Outsize cargo | 4 | 71.7 m | 64.4 m | 364 t | 1,840 m³ | A 747-400 derivative, largest volume until the Beluga XL |
| Boeing 747-8 | 8 Feb 2010 | Airliner | 137 | 76.4 m | 68.4 m | 448 t | Pax: 660 | Longest in serial production until the Boeing 777-9 |
| Airbus Beluga XL | 19 Jul 2018 | Outsize cargo | 5 | 63.1 m | 60.3 m | 227 t | 2,209 m³ | A330 derivative, largest volume |
| Stratolaunch | 13 Apr 2019 | Air launch | 1 | 73 m | 117 m | 590 t | 250 t | Widest aircraft, prototype carrier |
| Boeing 777X-9 | 25 Jan 2020 | Airliner | 1 | 76.7 m | 71.8 m | 352 t | Pax: 550 | Boeing 777 development, longest in serial production, heaviest twinjet |
Projects
| Aircraft | Proposed | MTOW | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poll Triplane | 1917 (circa) | 50 m wingspan[3] | |
| Victory Bomber | 1940/1941 | 47.2 t | 52 m wingspan, to carry a ten-ton earthquake bomb, rejected by the RAF[4] |
| Boeing 2707 SST | 1960s | 306 t | a 93 m long Concorde answer, canceled in 1971 |
| Lockheed CL-1201 | 1960s | 6,420 t | nuclear-powered, 1,120 feet (340 m) wing span, airborne aircraft carrier |
| Boeing RC-1 | 1970s | 1,610 t | "flying pipeline", proposed before the 1973 oil crisis |
| Conroy Virtus | 1974 | 386 t | 140 m wingspan, to carry Space Shuttle parts |
| Beriev Be-2500 | 1980s | 2,500 t | super heavy amphibious transport aircraft |
| Beriev Be-5000 | 1980s | 5,000 t | twin fuselages Be-2500 |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-12 | 1990 | 430 t | Proposed double deck airliner, canceled in mid-1990s |
| Boeing New Large Airplane | 1990s | 532 t | 747 replacement powered by 777 engines, canceled in the 1990s |
| Aerocon Dash 1.6 wingship | 1990s | 5,000 t | US ground effect aircraft, developed with Russian consultation |
| Tupolev Tu-404 | 1990s | 605 t | blended wing body airliner for 1,214 passenger, 110 m wingspan[5] |
| Sukhoi KR-860 | 1990s | 650 t | transport for 300 t payload or 860-1,000 passengers Double deck airliner |
| Boeing 747X | 1996 | 473 t | 747-400 stretch, Airbus A3XX competitor |
| Boeing Pelican | 2002 | 2,700 t | Ground effect and medium altitude transport |
| Airbus A380-900 | 2006 | 590 t | Airbus A380-800 stretch, postponed in May 2010[6] |
| TsAGI HCA-LB | 2010s | 1,000 t | ground effect aircraft powered by LNG |
| Skylon | current | 345 t | reusable spaceplane |
Rotary-wing
_Groningen_Airport.jpg)
| Aircraft | First flight | MTOW | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hughes XH-17 | 23 Oct 1952 | 23 t | Prototype heavy-lift helicopter, largest rotor at 39.6 m |
| Mil Mi-6 | 5 June 1957 | 44 t | heavy transport helicopter, 35 m rotor |
| Fairey Rotodyne | 6 Nov 1957 | 15 t | Largest gyrodyne prototype for 40 passengers |
| Boeing CH-47 | 21 Dec 1961 | 23 t | tandem rotor |
| Mil V-12 or Mi-12 | 10 Jul 1968 | 105 t | Largest prototype helicopter, 2 × 35 m rotors |
| Sikorsky CH-53E | 1 Mar 1974 | 33 t | largest US helicopter |
| Mil Mi-26 | 14 Dec 1977 | 56 t | heaviest serial production helicopter |
| V-22 Osprey | 19 Mar 1989 | 27 t | first operational VTOL tiltrotor |
| Sikorsky CH-53K | 27 October 2015 | 38.4 t | CH-53E update |
Lighter than air
| Aircraft | First flight | Volume | Length | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HM Airship R101 | 14 Oct 1929 | 156,000 m3 | 236 m | followed by the smaller 146,000 m3 R100 (220 m) on 16 Dec 1929 |
| US Navy USS Akron | 8 Aug 1931 | 180,000 m3 | 239 m | largest helium-filled airship along its USS Macon sister ship |
| LZ 129 Hindenburg | 4 Apr 1936 | 200,000 m3 | 245 m | Largest volume, 215 t, along its LZ130 Graf Zeppelin II sister ship |
| U.S. Navy ZPG-3W | July 1958 | 42,450 m3 | 123 m | Largest U.S. Navy non-rigid airship |
| Airlander 10 | 17 Aug 2016 | 38,000 m3 | 92 m | Largest modern non-rigid airship |
Hindenburg airship compared with the largest fixed-wing aircraft.
- The 240,000 m3 R102 was cancelled, like the 270,000 m3 R103
Proposals
Hydrogen carrier airship (2.45 km long) and balloon (727 m wide), 28000 tonne MTOW both.[7]
References
- Schoolcraft, Don, FAA Definitions begining(sic) with the letter L., Aviation Safety Bureau
- EASA Regulation – Amendment of Implementing Rule 2042/2003, Version 1 (PDF). 13 January 2012. p. 4. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
- Gunston, Bill, 1991. Giants of the Sky: The Largest Aeroplanes of All Time. Sparkford, UK: Patrick Stephens Limited.
- Buttler, Tony. Secret Projects: British Fighters and Bombers 1935 -1950 Midland Publishing, 2004. ISBN 1-85780-179-2.
- ""404" Tupolev". testpilot.ru.
- "A380-900 and freighter both on 'back-burner': Enders". Flight International. 20 May 2010. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
- Using the jet stream for sustainable airship and balloon transportation of cargo and hydrogen
Further reading
- Jarrett, Philip (2008), The Colour Encyclopedia of Incredible Aeroplanes, Dorling Kindersley, ISBN 978-1405335980
- Kaplan, Philip (2005), Big Wings, Pen & Sword Aviation, ISBN 978-1844151783
- Layton, Julia (2011), What's the world's largest airplane?, How Stuff Works
- Malone, Robert (2007), The World's Biggest Planes, Forbes
- Patterson, Thom (2013), Stalking world's biggest planes makes for photos that say 'wow', CNN
- Robinson, Douglas (1973), Giants in the Sky, University of Washington Press, ISBN 978-0295952499
- Ruffin, Steven (2005), "Goliaths of the Air", Aviation's Most Wanted, Potomac, pp. 62–67, ISBN 978-1574886740
External links
- Top 50 Largest Aircraft at Global Aircraft
- Largest Plane in the World at Aerospaceweb
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