largest plane in the world

8/7/2019 Largest Plane in the World

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Largest Plane in the WorldI'm confused by the way the record for largest plane is determined. I read that

the largest airliner in the world is the 747-400, and then I read it is the An-225.Similarly, I read that the plane with the largest wingspan is the Spruce Goose,and then I read about an airliner called the Bristol Brabazon with a wingspanlarger than the 747! Could you please define the records, if any, that theseaircraft hold with EXACT wording to the particular record?- question from Jack

Aircraft records can indeed be confusing. If you need any reminder of thatobservation, try looking through the records on the FAI website. FAI, short forFdration Aronautique Internationale, is the international body that officiallyrecognizes aviation and space records. However, most of the information on that siteconcerns aircraft performance, such as speed and altitude, rather than size.

Your question really comes down to how you decide to compare one plane toanother. One of the measurements you mention is wingspan. While this dimension isoften used to compare overall size, it is generally not the most accepted measure.Aircraft are usually ranked by weight, the maximum takeoff weight in particular. Bythis measure, the world's largest plane is the Antonov An-225 built in Ukraine when itwas part of the Soviet Union.

An-225, largest plane in the world

The An-225 is quoted as having a maximum takeoff weight of over 1.3 millionpounds (600,000 kg). The FAI gives credit for a slightly lower weight of 1.12 millionpounds (508,200 kg), the record set by an An-225 in 1989 for the largest mass everlifted by an airplane to an altitude of 6,500 ft (2,000 m). The An-225 was originally

built to ferry the Soviet Buran space shuttle but it is now used to transport variousoutsize cargos. Only one example was ever completed, and it is currently available
http://www.fai.org/records/http://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/transport-m/an225/http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/spacecraft/q0153.shtmlhttp://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/transport-m/an225/http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/spacecraft/q0153.shtmlhttp://www.fai.org/records/


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for charter flights. The An-225 is a cargo transport only and has never been used asan airliner.

If we continue to measure by maximum takeoff weight, the next largest plane in theworld would be either the related An-124 transport or theBoeing 747 airliner. Bothaircraft are quoted with a maximum weight around 900,000 lb (405,000 kg). The An-

124 was also built by the Soviet Union as a large cargo plane for both military andcivil use. The basic design was later enlarged and adapted to produce the An-225.

An-124

Over 50 examples of the An-124 were ultimately built, and many are now operatedon charter flights through commercial firms. The American EP-3 reconnaissanceplane that was forced to land after colliding with a Chinese fighter was actuallytransported back to the US aboard an An-124 chartered by the Americangovernment.
http://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/transport-m/an124/http://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/jetliner/b747/http://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/jetliner/b747/http://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/transport-m/an124/http://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/jetliner/b747/


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Boeing 747

The Boeing 747, meanwhile, is currently the world's largest commercial airliner andtypically carries about 400 passengers on intercontinental flights. The 747 will notretain its title for long, however, since the new Airbus A380 will carry over 550

passengers and have a takeoff weight over 1.23 million pounds (560,000 kg).
http://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/jetliner/a380/http://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/jetliner/a380/


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Airbus A380

Once it enters service, the A380 will become the world's largest airliner and at leastthe second largest plane. Additional stretched models are also planned, and one ofthese will almost surely supersede the An-225 to take the official title as world's

largest plane.Your question also mentions two other classic aircraft that were certainly enormousby any measure. Unfortunately, both proved to be disastrous follies that were greatembarrassments to their proponents. The Spruce Goose, officially known as theHughes H-4 Hercules, was the brainchild of flamboyant billionaire Howard Hughes.The aircraft had originally been ordered by the US government during World War IIas a giant cargo plane ferrying up to 750 armed troops or two 30-ton tanks. As thewar concluded, Hughes believed he could adapt the massive plane to revolutionizelong-distance transportation in the fledgling airline and air cargo industires. Hiscreation was the world's largest plane at the time and is still the largest flying boatever built with a maximum takeoff weight of 400,000 lb (180,000 kg). The enormous

craft also holds records for the largest wingspan at 319 ft 11 in (97.5 m), tallestairplane at 79 ft 3 3/8 in (24.2 m), and the largest aircraft ever made from wood.


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Spruce Goose during its only flight

After pouring $7 million of his own money and another $18 million of governmentfunds into the behemoth, Hughes only succeeded in making a single mile-long flightin 1947. The record-setting plane never flew again and is today a tourist attraction atthe Evergreen Aviation Museum in Oregon.

Like the Spruce Goose, the Bristol Brabazon was another a government-sponsoredeffort intended to advance the state of the art in long-distance travel. The Brabazonwas funded by the UK during the 1940s to develop a large airliner capable of non-stop flights between London and New York. Though smaller than the Spruce Goose,the Brabazon would have easily been the largest airliner of the day with a takeoffweight of 250,000 lb (115,000 kg) and a wingspan of 230 ft (70 m).
http://www.sprucegoose.org/http://www.sprucegoose.org/


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Bristol Brabazon compared to other planes of the day

If successful, the Brabazon offered the opportunity to challenge Americanmanufacturers for dominance in the commercial aviation market. Unfortunately, theambitious design failed to receive government certification following the discovery offatigue cracks in the propeller mountings. While the problem was certainlycorrectable, the UK decided to cancel further funding in the early 1950s even though3 million had already been invested. Only one prototype had been built, and it wasbroken up for scrap in late 1953 after flying only 400 hours. An improved prototypewith structural enhancements and turboprop engines was also under construction,but it too was scrapped after the project was cancelled.


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Relative size comparison of the Spruce Goose, An-225, A380, and 747

In summary, aircraft sizes are typically compared by weight rather than length orwingspan. The largest plane in the world at the current time is therefore the An-225,though the A380 will likely overtake it in the near future. The largest wingspan,however, still belongs to the Spruce Goose at nearly 320 feet. By this measure, theAn-225 would be a distant second place at 290 ft, and the A380 falls short at 262 ft.- answer byMolly Swanson, 8 August 2004

Additional Rankings:
http://www.aerospaceweb.org/about/bios/mollyswanson.shtmlhttp://www.aerospaceweb.org/about/bios/mollyswanson.shtml


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Since this article was posted, we have received several messages from readers whobelieve the C-5 Galaxy transport operated by the US Air Force ranks second or thirdplace and should be included. The C-5 was the world's largest plane when it wasintroduced in the late 1960s, but it has since been overtaken by the jet-poweredaircraft discussed above.

C-5 Galaxy

The C-5 remained the world's largest plane until the introduction of the An-124, and

the C-5 has since been surpassed by the An-225, enlarged models of the 747, andthe new A380 as well. The current ranking of the world's largest aircraft by maximumtakeoff weight (MTOW) is shown in the following table.

Rank Aircraft MTOW [lb] Notes

1. An-225 Mriya 1,300,000 -

2. Airbus A380 1,230,000 -

3. Boeing 747-400ER 910,000 the 747-8 under development will reach960,000 lb

4. An-124 Ruslan 892,870 -

5. C-5 Galaxy 840,000 wartime only, peacetime TOW is limited to769,000 lb

6. Airbus A340-600HGW

837,755 high-gross weight variant

7. Boeing 777-300ER 775,000 highest available weight, loading restrictionsapply

With a wingspan of 223 ft, the C-5 currently ranks sixth after the Spruce Goose (320ft), An-225 (290 ft), A380 (262 ft), An-124 (240 ft), and a tie between the Brabazonand B-36 (230 ft). The C-5 has a larger span than the 747-400 (211 ft) but will soonbe narrowly beaten by the new 747-8 variant with a wingspan of nearly 225 ft.

- answer byGreg Alexander, 11 November 2005Related Topics:
http://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/transport-m/c5/http://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/transport-m/an225/http://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/jetliner/a380/http://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/jetliner/b747/http://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/transport-m/an124/http://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/transport-m/c5/http://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/jetliner/a340/http://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/jetliner/a340/http://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/jetliner/b777/http://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/bomber/b36/http://www.aerospaceweb.org/about/bios/gregalexander.shtmlhttp://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/transport-m/c5/http://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/transport-m/an225/http://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/jetliner/a380/http://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/jetliner/b747/http://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/transport-m/an124/http://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/transport-m/c5/http://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/jetliner/a340/http://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/jetliner/a340/http://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/jetliner/b777/http://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/bomber/b36/http://www.aerospaceweb.org/about/bios/gregalexander.shtml


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I like your article about the world's biggest plane but wonder about helicopterstoo. How are they ranked? By weight, length, or rotor size? Is the CH-53 thebiggest in the world or something else?

Most people seem to be infatuated with the biggest or the fastest. I have theopposite question. What is the smallest plane in the world?

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