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 aircraft:

  Airbus A380-800

  Antonov An-225 Mriya

  Boeing 747

  Hughes H-4 Hercules

  Stratolaunch

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

Antonov An-225, the current heaviest aircraft

In bold: largest value then, light background: entered serial production

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 Latécoère 631, 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
Latécoère 631	4 Nov 1942	Flying boat	11	43.5 m	57.4 m	71.4 t	Pax: 46	longest until the B-36
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, 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

Aeroflot Mil V-12 at Groningen Airport in May 1971.

Aircraft	First flight	MTOW	number built	Note
Hughes XH-17	23 Oct 1952	23 t	1	Prototype heavy-lift helicopter, largest rotor at 39.6 m
Mil Mi-6	5 June 1957	44 t	926	heavy transport helicopter, 35 m rotor
Fairey Rotodyne	6 Nov 1957	15 t	1	Largest gyrodyne prototype for 40 passengers
Boeing CH-47 Chinook	21 Dec 1961	23 t	1,200+	tandem rotor
Mil V-12 or Mi-12	10 Jul 1968	105 t	2	Largest prototype helicopter, 2 × 35 m rotors
Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion	1 Mar 1974	33 t	234	largest US helicopter
Mil Mi-26	14 Dec 1977	56 t	316	heaviest serial production helicopter
V-22 Osprey	19 Mar 1989	27 t	400	first operational VTOL tiltrotor
Sikorsky CH-53K King Stallion	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 m^3	236 m	followed by the smaller 146,000 m^3 R100 (220 m) on 16 Dec 1929
US Navy USS Akron	8 Aug 1931	180,000 m^3	239 m	largest helium-filled airship along its USS Macon sister ship
LZ 129 Hindenburg	4 Apr 1936	200,000 m^3	245 m	Largest volume, 215 t, along its LZ130 Graf Zeppelin II sister ship
U.S. Navy ZPG-3W	July 1958	42,450 m^3	123 m	Largest U.S. Navy non-rigid airship
Airlander 10	17 Aug 2016	38,000 m^3	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]

See also

• List of largest passenger vehicles
• Wide-body aircraft

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.
6. "A380-900 and freighter both on 'back-burner': Enders". Flight International. 20 May 2010. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
7. 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