Engineering:List of large aircraft
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Antonov An-225 Mriya
This is a list of large aircraft, including three types: fixed wing, rotary wing, and airships.
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
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| Type | First flight | Role | Built | Length | Span | MTOW | Capacity | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ilya Muromets | 1913 | airliner/bomber | 85+ | 19.13 yards (17.49 meters) | 32.58 yards (29.79 meters) | 4.527 tons | Pax: 16 | First multi-engine aircraft in serial production, Russky Vityaz development |
| Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI | 1916 | Bomber | 56 | 24.168 yards (22.099 meters) | 46.15 yards (42.20 meters) | 11.613 tons | Largest WWI aircraft in regular service | |
| Tarrant Tabor | 1919 | Bomber | 1 | 24.38 yards (22.29 meters) | 43.74 yards (40.00 meters) | 19.97 tons | 4.1 t | Crashed on first flight |
| Dornier Do X | 1929-07-12 12 Jul 1929
|
Flying boat | 3 | 43.74 yards (40.00 meters) | 52.27 yards (47.80 meters) | 51.1787 tons | Pax: 100 | Then longest, widest and heaviest |
| Kalinin K-7 | 1933-08-11 11 Aug 1933
|
Transport | 1 | 30.62 yards (28.00 meters) | 57.96 yards (53.00 meters) | 45.77 tons | Pax: 120 | Widest aircraft until the Tupolev ANT-20 |
| Tupolev ANT-20 | 1934-05-19 19 May 1934
|
Transport | 2 | 35.979 yards (32.899 meters) | 68.8976 yards (63.0000 meters) | 52.16 tons | Pax: 72 | Widest and heaviest until the Douglas XB-19 |
| Douglas XB-19 | 1941-06-27 27 Jun 1941
|
Bomber | 1 | 44.07 yards (40.30 meters) | 70.65 yards (64.60 meters) | 72.34 tons | Longest until the Laté. 631, widest until the B-36, heaviest until the Martin Mars | |
| Messerschmitt Me 323 | 1942-01-20 20 Jan 1942
|
Transport | 198 | 30.84 yards (28.20 meters) | 60.37 yards (55.20 meters) | 42.32 tons | 11.81 tons | Highest cargo capacity land-based World War II transport |
| Martin JRM Mars | 1942-06-23 23 Jun 1942
|
Flying boat | 7 | 39.04 yards (35.70 meters) | 66.71 yards (61.00 meters) | 73.62 tons | 14.76 tons | Heaviest until the Junkers 390, Largest serial production flying boat |
| Latécoère 631 | 1942-11-04 4 Nov 1942
|
Flying boat | 11 | 47.57 yards (43.50 meters) | 62.77 yards (57.40 meters) | 70.27 tons | Pax: 46 | Longest until the Convair B-36 |
| Junkers Ju 390 | 1943-10-20 20 Oct 1943
|
Bomber | 2 | 37.40 yards (34.20 meters) | 55.01 yards (50.30 meters) | 74.31 tons | 9.84 tons | Heaviest until the BV 238, Junkers entry for the Amerika Bomber project |
| Blohm & Voss BV 238 | 1944-04 Apr 1944
|
Flying boat | 1 | 47.35 yards (43.30 meters) | 65.84 yards (60.20 meters) | 98.42 tons | Heaviest built during WWII, destroyed in 1945 | |
| Convair B-36 | 1946-08-08 8 Aug 1946
|
Bomber | 384 | 54.02 yards (49.40 meters) | 76.66 yards (70.10 meters) | 183.06 tons | Heaviest until the B-52, longest and widest until the Hughes H-4 | |
| Hughes H-4 Hercules (Spruce Goose) | 1947-11-02 2 Nov 1947
|
Flying boat | 1 | 72.94 yards (66.70 meters) | 106.95 yards (97.80 meters) | 177.15 tons | Longest until the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy and widest until the Stratolaunch | |
| Convair XC-99 | 1947-11-23 23 Nov 1947
|
Transport | 1 | 60.80 yards (55.60 meters) | 76.66 yards (70.10 meters) | 142.71 tons | 44.28 tons | B-36 development, most capable transport aircraft until the An-22 |
| Boeing B-52 | 1952-04-15 15 Apr 1952
|
Bomber | 744 | 53.04 yards (48.50 meters) | 61.68 yards (56.40 meters) | 216.525 tons | Heaviest until the XB-70, still in service | |
| XB-70 | 1964-09-21 21 Sep 1964
|
Bomber | 2 | 61.68 yards (56.40 meters) | 34.99 yards (31.99 meters) | 242.115 tons | Heaviest until the An-22, Mach 3 prototype bomber | |
| Antonov An-22 | 1965-02-27 27 Feb 1965
|
Transport | 68 | 63.32 yards (57.90 meters) | 70.43 yards (64.40 meters) | 246.05 tons | 80 t | Heaviest until the C-5, Heaviest turboprop aircraft |
| Caspian Sea Monster | 1966-10-16 16 Oct 1966
|
Ekranoplan | 1 | 100.61 yards (92.00 meters) | 41.12 yards (37.60 meters)37.6 m | 535.41 tons | Ground-effect vehicle. Heaviest and longest flying vehicle until the An-225, 1980 crash | |
| Lockheed C-5 Galaxy | 1968-06-30 30 Jun 1968
|
Transport | 131 | 82.34 yards (75.29 meters) | 74.26 yards (67.90 meters) | 410.41 tons | 125.49 tons | Largest payload capacity until the An-124 |
| Boeing 747 | 1969-02-09 9 Feb 1969
|
Airliner | 1557 | 77.32 yards (70.70 meters) | 65.18 yards (59.60 meters) | 406.86 tons | Pax: 550/660 | Highest passenger capacity airliner until the Airbus A380; most built wide-body airliner until the Boeing 777 |
| Antonov An-124 | 1982-12-26 26 Dec 1982
|
Transport | 55 | 75.57 yards (69.10 meters) | 80.16 yards (73.30 meters) | 395.65 tons | 147.63 tons | Most capable transport until the An-225 |
| Airbus A320 | 1997-02-22 22 Feb 1987
|
Airliner | 12198 | 41.09 yards (37.57 meters) | 39.15 yards (35.80 meters) | 78 tons | Pax: 150/164 | Most built airliner |
| Antonov An-225 Mriya | 1988-12-21 21 Dec 1988
|
Transport | 1 | 91.86 yards (84.00 meters) | 96.68 yards (88.40 meters) | 629.89 tons | 246.05 tons | Heaviest aircraft and most capable transport, destroyed in 2022 |
| Boeing 777 | 1994-06-12 12 Jun 1994
|
Airliner | 1767 | 80.77 yards (73.86 meters) | 70.86 yards (64.79 meters) | 351.5 tons | Pax: 550 | Most built wide-body airliner |
| Airbus Beluga | 1994-09-13 13 Sep 1994
|
Outsize cargo | 5 | 61.46 yards (56.20 meters) | 48.99 yards (44.80 meters) | 152.55 t | 1,961.93 cubic yards (1,500.00 cubic meters) | Airbus A300 derivative, largest volume until the Dreamlifter |
| Airbus A380 | 2005-04-27 27 Apr 2005
|
Airliner | 254 | 79.51 yards (72.70 meters) | 87.27 yards (79.80 meters) | 565.92 tons | Pax: 850 | Highest passenger capacity airliner |
| Boeing Dreamlifter | 2006-09-09 9 Sep 2006
|
Outsize cargo | 4 | 78.41 yards (71.70 meters) | 70.43 yards (64.40 meters) | 358.25 tons | 2,406.63 cubic yards (1,840.00 cubic meters) | Boeing 747-400 derivative, largest volume until the BelugaXL |
| Airbus BelugaXL | 2018-07-19 19 Jul 2018
|
Outsize cargo | 6 | 69.01 yards (63.10 meters) | 65.945 yards (60.300 meters) | 223.41 tons | 2,889.26 cubic yards (2,209.00 cubic meters) | Airbus A330 derivative, largest volume |
| Scaled Composites 351 Stratolaunch | 2019-04-13 13 Apr 2019
|
Air launch | 1 | 79.83 yards (73.00 meters) | 127.95 yards (117.00 meters) | 580.68 t | 246.052 t | Current heaviest and widest, prototype air-launch-to-orbit carrier |
Projects
| Type | Proposed | MTOW | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poll Triplane | 1917 (circa) | 50 m (160 ft) wingspan[3] | |
| Victory Bomber | 1940/1941 | 47.2 tons | 52 m (171 ft) wingspan, to carry a ten-ton earthquake bomb, rejected by the RAF[4] |
| Boeing 2707 SST | 1960s | 301.17 tons | A 93 m-long (305 ft) Concorde answer, canceled in 1971 |
| Lockheed CL-1201 | 1960s | 6318.61 tons | Nuclear-powered, 1,120 feet (340 m) wing span, airborne aircraft carrier |
| Boeing RC-1 | 1970s | 1584.57 tons | "flying pipeline", proposed before the 1973 oil crisis |
| Conroy Virtus | 1974 | 379.90 tons | 140 m (460 ft) wingspan, to carry Space Shuttle parts |
| Beriev Be-2500 | 1980s | 2460.57 tons | Super heavy amphibious transport aircraft |
| Beriev Be-5000 | 1980s | 4921.03 tons | Twin fuselage Be-2500 |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-12 | 1990 | 423.21 tons | Proposed double deck airliner, canceled in mid-1990s |
| Boeing New Large Airplane | 1990s | 523.6 tons | 747 replacement powered by 777 engines, canceled in the 1990s |
| Aerocon Dash 1.6 wingship | 1990s | 4921.03 tons | US ground effect aircraft, developed with Russian consultation |
| Tupolev Tu-404 | 1990s | 595.45 tons | Blended wing body airliner for 1,214 passengers, 110 m (360 ft) wingspan[5] |
| Sukhoi KR-860 | 1990s | 639.73 tons | Transport for 300 t payload or 860–1,000 passengers Double deck airliner |
| Skylon | 1993 | 339.55 tons | Reusable spaceplane, cancelled in 2024 |
| Boeing 747X | 1996 | 465.53 tons | 747-400 stretch, Airbus A3XX competitor |
| Boeing Pelican | 2002 | 2657.36 tons | Ground effect and medium altitude transport |
| Airbus A380-900 | 2006 | 580.68 tons | Airbus A380-800 stretch, postponed in May 2010[6] |
| TsAGI HCA-LB | current | 984.21 tons | Ground effect aircraft powered by LNG |
Rotary-wing
_Groningen_Airport.jpg)
| Type | First flight | MTOW | Number built | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cierva W.11 Air Horse | Template:Datesort | 8 t | 1 | Three rotor helicopter |
| Hughes XH-17 | Template:Datesort | 23 t | 1 | Prototype heavy-lift helicopter, largest rotor at 39.6 m (130 ft) |
| Mil Mi-6 | Template:Datesort | 44 t | 926 | Heavy transport helicopter, 35 m (115 ft) rotor |
| Mil V-12 or Mi-12 | Template:Datesort | 105 t | 2 | Largest prototype helicopter, 2 × 35 m (115 ft) rotors |
| Mil Mi-26 | Template:Datesort | 56 t | 316 | Heaviest serial production helicopter |
| Fairey Rotodyne | Template:Datesort | 15 t | 1 | Largest gyrodyne. Prototype for 40 passengers |
| Kamov Ka-22 | Template:Datesort | 42.5 t | 4 | Composite rotorcraft |
| Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey | Template:Datesort | 21.5 t | 400 | First operational VTOL tiltrotor |
Proposals
- Yakovlev Yak-60 – Mil V-12 size helicopter design
- Yakovlev VVP-6 – Mil V-12 size helicopter design
Lighter than air
| Type | Date | Volume | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preusen ("Prussia") | 1901 | 8,400 m3[10] | German experimental prototype |
| CL75 AirCrane | 2001 | 110,000 m3 | CargoLifter experimental prototype, approximately 120.6 tonnes with helium fill |
| Type | First flight | Volume | Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zeppelin LZ 1 | 1900 | 11,300 m3[10] | 128 m | German experimental prototype |
| R38 (US: ZR-2) | 1921 | 77,100 m3[11] | 212 m | UK military, built for US Navy |
| R100 | 1929 | 193,970 m3 | 216 m | UK experimental passenger transport |
| HM Airship R101 | 19291014 14 Oct 1929
|
156,000 m3 (5,500,000 cu ft) | 236 m | Followed by the smaller 146,000 m3 (5,200,000 cu ft) R100 (220 m) on 16 Dec 1929 |
| US Navy USS Akron | 19310808 8 Aug 1931
|
180,000 m3 (6,400,000 cu ft)> | 239 m | Largest helium-filled airship along with its USS Macon sister ship |
| LZ 129 Hindenburg | 19360404 4 Apr 1936
|
200,000 m3 | 245 m | Largest volume along with its LZ130 Graf Zeppelin II sister ship, approximately 237.2 tonnes with hydrogen fill |
Proposals
- Hydrogen carrier airship (2.45 km long) and balloon (727 m wide), 28,000-tonne MTOW both.[12]
- Geostationary Banana Over Texas, a 300-meter-long (980 ft) helium-filled airship with an outer shell supposed to be made of paper and bamboo, shaped like a yellow banana.[13]
- High Altitude Venus Operational Concept
See also
- List of largest machines
- List of largest passenger vehicles
- Wide-body aircraft
References
- ↑ Schoolcraft, Don, FAA Definitions begining [sic] with the letter L., Aviation Safety Bureau, http://www.faa-aircraft-certification.com/faa-definitions.html#L.
- ↑ EASA Regulation – Amendment of Implementing Rule 2042/2003, Version 1. 13 January 2012. p. 4. http://www.bureauveritas.com/wps/wcm/connect/76a270804a3ec2d19ecdfe26af34d9ac/CONTINUING%2BAIRWORTHINESS.pdf. 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". https://testpilot.ru/russia/tupolev/404/404_e.htm.
- ↑ "A380-900 and freighter both on 'back-burner': Enders". Flight International. 20 May 2010. http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2010/05/20/342239/a380-900-and-freighter-both-on-back-burner-enders.html.
- ↑ "World's largest aircraft delivers colossal cargo to makeshift airstrips". 18 March 2024. https://newatlas.com/aircraft/worlds-largest-aircraft-tradia-windrunner/.
- ↑ "WSJ News Exclusive | How the World's Biggest Plane Would Supersize Wind Energy". 13 March 2024. https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil/how-the-worlds-biggest-plane-would-supersize-wind-energy-2f116e9b.
- ↑ "If We Want Bigger Wind Turbines, We're Gonna Need Bigger Airplanes". 10 September 2025. https://spectrum.ieee.org/wind-turbine-blade-transport-plane.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Ege, L,; "Balloons and Airships", Blandford (1973).
- ↑ "R38/ZR2". The Airship Heritage Trust. http://www.airshipsonline.com/airships/r38/index.html.
- ↑ 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, doi:10.1016/j.ecmx.2019.100016, Bibcode: 2019ECMX....300016H
- ↑ MACCORMACK, JOHN. "Artist wants to float 1,000-foot balloon over Texas" (in en). Chron. https://www.chron.com/news/bizarre/article/Artist-wants-to-float-1-000-foot-balloon-over-1845204.php.
Further reading
- Jarrett, Philip (2008), The Colour Encyclopedia of Incredible Aeroplanes, Dorling Kindersley, ISBN 978-1-4053-3598-0
- Kaplan, Philip (2005), Big Wings, Pen & Sword Aviation, ISBN 978-1-84415-178-3
- Layton, Julia (2011), What's the world's largest airplane?, How Stuff Works, http://science.howstuffworks.com/transport/flight/modern/largest-airplane.htm
- Malone, Robert (2007), "The World's Biggest Planes", Forbes, https://www.forbes.com/2007/06/01/aviation-aerospace-planes-biz-cx_rm_0604bigplanes.html
- Patterson, Thom (2013), Stalking world's biggest planes makes for photos that say 'wow', CNN, https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/plane-spotting-big-aircraft/index.html
- Robinson, Douglas (1973), Giants in the Sky, University of Washington Press, ISBN 978-0-295-95249-9, https://archive.org/details/giantsinskyhisto0000robi
- Ruffin, Steven (2005), "Goliaths of the Air", Aviation's Most Wanted, Potomac, pp. 62–67, ISBN 978-1-57488-674-0
External links
- Top 50 Largest Aircraft at Global Aircraft
- Largest Plane in the World at Aerospaceweb
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