List of large aircraft

This is a list of notably large aircraft.

Contents

Fixed-wing

Civilian

Aircraft First flight Note
Antonov An-225 21 December 1988 The longest and heaviest aircraft in the world (max. takeoff weight greater than 600 t)
Aero Spacelines Super Guppy 31 August 1965 Radical cargo aircraft based on the Boeing 377
Airbus Beluga 13 September 1994 Airbus replacement for the Super Guppy. Based on the A300-600
Airbus A340-600 23 April 2001 World's second longest passenger aircraft at 75.36m.[1]
Airbus A380 27 April 2005 Largest mass-produced aircraft in the world and the highest-capacity passenger aircraft
Antonov An-70 16 December 1994 First large transport aircraft to use propfan engines
Antonov An-124 1982 The second largest mass-produced aircraft in the world since the Airbus A380 was produced. Remains the World's largest military aircraft.
Antonov An-22 27 February 1965 World's largest turboprop-powered airplane
Boeing 314 Clipper 7 June 1938 One of the largest flying boats
Boeing 377 Stratocruiser 8 July 1947 Large propeller-powered airliner based on the B-50 bomber aircraft
Boeing 747 9 February 1969 The largest jetliner for 35 years
Boeing 747-8 8 February 2010 (F variant) The world's longest passenger aircraft at 76.3m.[2]
Boeing 747 LCF (Dreamlifter) 9 September 2006 Massive volume for 787 parts transport (65,000 cubic feet)
Boeing 767 26 September 1981
Airbus A330-300 2 November 1992
Boeing 777 12 June 1994 Largest twin-engined aircraft in the world. Also the third largest Commercial Passenger aircraft made.
Boeing Shuttle Carrier Aircraft 1976 Derivative of the 747, used to transport the Space Shuttle
Bristol Brabazon 4 September 1949 Large airliner, size comparable to the Boeing 767
Ilyushin IL-86 22 December 1976 First wide-bodied aircraft produced in the Soviet Union
Ilyushin Il-96 28 September 1988
Junkers G.38 1929
Lockheed L-1011 Tristar 16 November 1970
McDonnell Douglas DC-10 29 August 1970
McDonnell Douglas MD-11 9 March 1988
Saunders-Roe Princess 22 August 1952 A large flying boat.
Tupolev Tu-114 15 November 1957 Passenger derivative of the Tu-95 bomber
JRM Mars 1941 A large flying boat. Used 1945-1956 as a "Flying Dreadnought" by the US navy. From 1956–Present they have been used as water bombers all over the world.

Military

Aircraft First flight Note
Blohm + Voss BV 222 7 September 1940
Blohm + Voss BV 238 (1944)- 11 March 1944 Heaviest aircraft during World War II, and physically was the largest aircraft produced by any of the Axis powers in World War II
Boeing B-29 Superfortress 21 September 1942 One of the largest aircraft used during World War II
Boeing B-52 Stratofortress 15 April 1952 Strategic bomber used for more than 50 years, largest military aircraft ever to have scored an air-to-air kill
Boeing C-17 Globemaster III 15 September 1991 The newest strategic airlifter used by the USAF, capable of long fights and quick maneuvering with a load.
Boeing E-6 Mercury February 1987 Military derivative of the Boeing 707 used for communications
CANT Z.511 October 1940
Convair B-36 Peacemaker 8 August 1946 First intercontinental strategic bomber, largest wingspan in a combat aircraft ever built
Convair XC-99 23 November 1947 Developed from B-36, largest piston-engined land-based transport aircraft ever built
Dornier Do X 12 July 1929 Was the largest flying boat in the world when it first flew
Douglas C-124 27 November 1949
Douglas C-133 Cargomaster Circa 1956
Handley Page V/1500 1918 Large strategic bomber introduced at the end of World War I
Kawanishi H8K January 1941 Largest WWII aircraft produced by Japan in any quantity
Linke-Hofmann R.II 1919 Largest aircraft (138 ft/42 m) wingspan ever to fly on only one propeller
Lockheed C-130 Hercules 23 August 1954
Lockheed C-141 Starlifter 1963 Used to replace piston-engined aircraft such as the C-124
Lockheed C-5 Galaxy 30 June 1968 Largest American military transport and one of the largest military aircraft in the world
Lockheed R6V Constitution 9 November 1946 Largest fixed-wing aircraft operated by the US Navy
McDonnell Douglas KC-10 1981 Derivative of the DC-10
Martin JRM Mars 1941 Largest flying boat to enter production
Messerschmitt Me 323 "Gigant" 1941 Biggest land-based cargo airplane during World War II
Myasishchev VM-T 1981 Derivative of the M-4, comparable to the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft and Guppy/Beluga transport aircraft
Northrop B-2 Spirit 17 July 1989 Large strategic stealth bomber
Northrop YB-35 June 1946 First bomber utilizing the concept of a "flying-wing"
Northrop YB-49 21 October 1948 Jet-powered version of the YB-35
Tupolev ANT-20 "Maxim Gorky" - Largest aircraft during the 1930s Circa 1934 One of the largest aircraft of the 1930s, used as a propaganda aircraft in the Soviet Union
Tupolev Tu-95 12 November 1952 Longest serving Tupolev bomber
Tupolev Tu-160 18 December 1981 Heaviest combat aircraft ever built
Zeppelin Staaken R.VI Circa 1917 Largest aircraft to see regular squadron service in World War I

Experimental/proposed

Aircraft First flight[Note 1] Note
Airbus A380-900 Announced in 2006 as a derivative of the Airbus A380-800. World's highest-capacity passenger aircraft in history
Beriev Be-2500 Will be the largest aircraft ever if built, development started in the 1980s
Boeing XB-15 15 October 1937 Nicknamed the "Old Grandpappy", wing design for it used on the Boeing 314 Clipper flying boat
Boeing Pelican Concept only
Boeing 2707 SST Design begun in the early 1960s. A mockup was built but no prototype. Planned as an answer to the European Concorde Supersonic Transport. At 306 feet (93 m) long it would have been one of the longest airframes ever flown. Problems with the weight of the swing-wing mechanism and air friction heating in Mach 3 flight provoked a drastic redesign, by which time airline interest in SSTs was dropping because of environmental concerns. The U.S. Congress cut government funding and airlines began canceling orders.
Caproni Ca.60 4 March 1921 Featured triple set of three wings, destroyed on first flight
Douglas XB-19 27 June 1941
Hughes H-4 Hercules "Spruce Goose" 2 November 1947 World's largest flying boat, and largest wingspan of any aircraft. Only one was ever built and it performed only one short flight.
Junkers Ju 488 1944 Proposed heavy bomber, never flown
Junkers Ju 390 20 October 1943 Selected and further developed as the Amerika Bomber
Kalinin K-7 11 August 1933 Large experimental bomber developed during the 1930s, crashed 4 months after first flight.
Nakajima G10N1 Fugaku 1943 Proposed long range bomber, never flown
North American XB-70 21 September 1964 Experimental bomber capable of 3 times the speed of sound. Before the first prototype was ever built it was determined by the Kennedy Administration that no matter how high and how fast the bomber, Soviet surface to air missiles would eventually catch up in capability, and it was dropped in favor of ICBMs.
Sukhoi KR-860 The concept for the super large transport aircraft which began in the 1990s KR-860 (Kryl'ya Rossii or Wings of Russia) early named as SKD-717 is super large transport aircraft with weights about 650 tonnes (Antonov An-225 weight is 600 tonnes), payload about 300 tonnes (An-225 payload is 250 tonnes) and 860 to 1000 passengers, a proposed Double decker wide-body Superjumbo jet by Russian aerospace company Sukhoi.
Reaction Engines Skylon Hydrogen spaceplane concept
A2 plane Concept antipodal hypersonic hydrogen passenger plane
  1. ^ For designs that never flew the year of design or conception is used instead.

Helicopters and rotary wing aircraft

Aircraft First flight[Note 1] Note
CH-47 Chinook 21 September 1961 Mass-produced heavy-lift helicopter
Fairey Rotodyne 6 November 1957 Advanced autogyro, prototype only
Hughes H-17 Sky Crane 1952 Heavy-lift helicopter with the largest rotor flown
Mil Mi-6 July 1957 Mass-produced heavy-lift helicopter
Mil V-12 10 July 1968 Largest helicopter ever built
Mil Mi-26 14 December 1977 Heaviest and most powerful helicopter in production
Sikorsky-Ericcson S-64 Skycrane 9 May 1962 Heavy-lift "skycrane"
Eurocopter EC725 Super Cougar 2005 Largest helicopter in service with the French armed forces
Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion 1981 Largest helicopter in service with the US armed forces
Westland Westminster June 15, 1958 British prototype of heavy-lift helicopter
  1. ^ For designs that never flew the year of design or conception is used instead.

Dirigible

See also

References

  1. ^ 01 March 2011. "Dimensions & key data | Airbus, a leading aircraft manufacturer". Airbus.com. http://www.airbus.com/aircraftfamilies/passengeraircraft/a340family/a340-600/specifications/. Retrieved 2011-03-03. 
  2. ^ "Commercial Airplanes - 747 - Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental and 747-8 Freighter". Boeing. http://www.boeing.com/commercial/747family/747-8_facts.html. Retrieved 2011-03-03. 
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