“The desire to fly is an idea passed down to us by our ancestors, who, in their grueling off-road journeys in prehistoric times, looked with envy at birds soaring freely through space, at full speed, without any obstacles on the endless road of air,” once Wilbur Wright said.

Could the Wright brothers, back in 1903, imagine what their idea of ​​controlled flight in the air would turn into? Now you won’t surprise anyone with supersonic planes and winged colossuses capable of transporting not only people, but also heavy equipment.

Well, we may not be able to fly like birds, but if we want, we can fly on one of the largest aircraft in the world. Choose which of these giants you like best.

Role: multi-role aircraft.

Developer: KB Tupolev, USSR.

This aircraft, created at the Voronezh Aviation Plant in 1934, became the largest aircraft of its time. Its wingspan reached 63 meters, and its maximum take-off weight was 42,000 kg. The ANT-20 was served by a staff of 5 people, and the aircraft could carry 48 passengers.

When the Little Prince's "father" Antoine de Saint-Exupéry arrived in the USSR, he flew on the ANT-20. But the life of this model was short-lived. In 1935, during a demonstration flight, the aircraft took off together with the I-5 fighter, which was supposed to demonstrate the difference in size for newsreels. While performing aerobatic maneuvers, the I-5 entered the “Nesterov loop”, lost speed and crashed onto the ANT-20 from above. That, in turn, began to fall apart in the sky and fell on the holiday village of Sokol.

As a result of this accident, 49 people died. At the Novodevichy cemetery there is a memorial topped with a huge granite bas-relief of the crashed plane.

Role: transport plane.

Developer: Boeing.

An aircraft unsurpassed in terms of fuselage capacity. The volume of its transport compartment is 1840 cubic meters. It is used strictly to transport parts of the Boeing 787 aircraft, which are designed by third-party suppliers. A total of 4 Dreamlifters were put into operation.

The Boeing 747 LCF is unprepossessing in appearance and has even been compared to the Wienermobile, a bun-shaped car used to promote and advertise Oscar Mayer products in the United States. And Boeing CEO Scott Carson jokingly apologized to Joe Sutter, head of the Boeing 747 development team, for what he did to his plane.

Role: passenger airliner.

Developer: Boeing.

Boeing knows how to develop aircraft that set records. The 747-8 became the longest passenger aircraft in the world. Its length is 76.4 meters.

The Boeing 747-8 is a representative of the new generation of the Boeing 747 series (eighth on our list). It features a longer fuselage, an improved wing and greater economic efficiency.

Role: passenger airliner.

Developer: Boeing.

Once upon a time, when asked what the largest aircraft in the world is in terms of passenger capacity, the designers of the double-deck Boeing 747 proudly answered: “Ours”! Depending on the modification, the aircraft can accommodate up to 624 passengers on board. But then the Airbus A380 appeared and displaced the Boeing 747 from the pedestal of the most spacious aircraft.

If you watched Casino Royale with Daniel Craig as James Bond, you may remember the SkyFleet S570 airliner that terrorists wanted to blow up. This airliner was a Boeing 747-236B, which was built in 1980 and flew until 2002. A worthy end to a career.

One of the largest air disasters in the world is also associated with the Boeing 747. It occurred in 1977 on the island of Tenerife. In fog, two Boeing 747s collided with each other on the runway, killing 583 people.

Role: transport plane.

Developer: OKB im. O.K. Antonova.

This winged machine, named Antaeus in honor of the invincible giant from ancient Greek myths, is still the world's largest turboprop aircraft.

Transportation of cargo during the war in Afghanistan and during the liquidation of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, transportation of refugees and military personnel from Eastern Europe and neighboring countries - this is not the complete “track record” of the An-22. And in one of the passenger flights organized during the air bridge between Egypt and the Soviet Union in 1972, Antey set a record, taking almost 700 people on board. This is a real hard worker, reliable and unpretentious in operation.

Role: transport plane.

Developer: OKB im. O.K. Antonova.

The top five largest aircraft in the world is opened by a Soviet design, which, until the advent of the Airbus A380 (number four on the list), was considered the largest commercially produced aircraft.

However, no one has yet taken away the title of “largest military aircraft” from the An-124, as well as the title of the world’s most load-bearing serial transport aircraft.

And although the production of “Ruslan”, as Oleg Konstantinovich Antonov called this aircraft, has now been suspended, the existing fleet of aircraft will be modernized. This was stated by Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov in July 2018.

Role: passenger liner.

Developer: Airbus.

The largest passenger aircraft in the world (of mass-produced ones) and one of the largest aircraft on Earth. When you watch a video of one of the largest aircraft in the world, it’s hard to believe that such a colossus is capable of taking off.

The Airbus A380 is capable of carrying up to 853 passengers in economy class configuration. By comparison, the A380's main competitor, the Boeing 747 passenger airliner, carries only 624 people in full economy class configuration.

It's not just airlines that own the luxurious Airbus A380. By order of the Saudi Prince Al-Walid ibn Talal, a private jet was built, which cost the owner $488 million.

Role: passenger liner.

Developer: Airbus.

It is the largest member of the Airbus A340 family and the third longest aircraft in the world (75.36 meters). Aircraft like the Airbus A340 were produced until November 2011, but could not withstand the competition with the Boeing 777. However, they still carry out passenger transportation in various countries around the world.

It is curious that during the entire period of operation (since 1993), only five A340 aircraft were lost. However, not a single passenger or crew member died.

Role: cargo plane.

Developer: OKB im. O.K. Antonova.

It is the largest transport aircraft ever built. Its maximum take-off weight is 640 tons and its payload capacity is 250 tons.

The An-225 is capable of transporting vehicles, construction and military equipment and other large cargo on its fuselage to different parts of the world. But this giant was intended for a different, much more ambitious purpose. It was created as part of the Buran reusable spacecraft project. It was assumed that the An-225 would transport Buran components and the launch vehicle from the place of creation and assembly to the launch site.

The first flight of the Mriya (dream in Ukrainian) took place in December 1988, carrying a Buran weighing sixty tons. However, after the collapse of the USSR, the “dream” was left without work. It began to be used again (after appropriate modernization) only in 2000, for commercial transportation.

And more recently, in September 2018, the giant aircraft set a new record by making a thirteen-hour non-stop flight from the Ukrainian Gostomel to the American Oakland Airport. He covered a distance of 9800 km.

Role: carrier aircraft.

Developer: Scaled Composites.

This huge plane will not carry regular cargo. Rather, it will serve as another way to deliver objects, namely satellites, into the stratosphere before launching them into space orbit. This type of transport will be more reliable and less expensive than traditional rockets.

Unlike the largest aircraft in the world - the Ukrainian Mriya - the American Stratolaunch does not yet fly. Its first demonstration took place in May 2017. In terms of wingspan - 117.3 meters, it is much superior to the An-225 (88.4 meters, respectively). For now Stratolaunch - the aircraft with the largest wingspan in the world.

However, the American is inferior to its Ukrainian “colleague” in terms of maximum take-off weight (589,670 kg and 640,000 kg, respectively) and length (73 meters for Stratolaunch versus 84 meters for the An-225).

The exact dates for new Stratolaunch tests are still unknown. Engineers hope the aircraft will enter service within the next 10 years.

The history of aviation in its modern sense goes back more than 100 years, if you do not take into account man’s attempts to fly into the air since ancient times. During this time, aircraft manufacturing has evolved from the first prototypes of the Wright brothers and other enthusiastic inventors to heavy-duty, multi-ton giants capable of carrying tons of cargo and hundreds of passengers. This article is about the 10 largest aircraft in the world.

The largest passenger plane in the world

The Airbus A380 holds the lead among the largest civil aircraft for transporting passengers. This is the brainchild of the European company Airbus. It first flew into the air with passengers in 2005 after 10 years of development and experimentation by designers.

Fact. The cost of creating the giant was almost 12 billion euros.

This expensive, but the largest passenger aircraft has the following dimensions:

• height – 24.08 m;
• length – 72.75 m;
• wingspan - 79.75 m;
• weight – 280 t.

Additional information. Despite its impressive dimensions, the Airbus A380 is very economical and even environmentally friendly in operation - only three liters of fuel are consumed to transport one passenger over a distance of 100 kilometers. It can cover a distance of more than 15,400 meters without refueling. And the less fuel is spent, the less emissions into the atmosphere. This result was achieved thanks to the ideal design of the wing and fuselage, as well as the special material from which they are made. These engineering solutions significantly reduced the overall weight of the vessel and improved its aerodynamics.

Today, double-decker Airbus A380s accommodate 525 passengers when divided into three classes and up to 853 people with a single-class cabin configuration. However, development and testing of improved versions of the aircraft are already underway, the capacity of which should exceed 1000 people.

The Airbus A380 unseated the Boeing 747, which had held its position as the largest aircraft since the 1970s. The A380 developers have found a way to reduce production costs by 15% compared to Boeing and increase capacity by 7%.

Second largest aircraft in the world

The already mentioned Boeing 747 (Jumbo Jet) ranks honorably second in size among passenger airliners. At the time of its creation in 1969, it was the largest, heaviest and most spacious aircraft, 70.6 m long.

For 36 years it was produced in various modifications, however, maintaining their main characteristics: a wide fuselage and two floors for passengers. This design gives the Jumbo Jet a recognizable hump-like silhouette, as the upper deck is significantly shorter than the lower deck.

Interesting. In the late 1960s, it was believed that the future of passenger aviation belonged to supersonic light aircraft, which would displace the clumsy heavyweights. Therefore, the 747 was designed with the ability to be converted into a freighter. Experts estimated the capacity of the market for spacious aircraft at no more than 400 units, but these forecasts did not come true, and in 1993 the company sold its thousandth Boeing 747. Only in our century, with the advent of the Airbus A380, demand began to fall.

In the 1970s There was a fuel crisis in the world, prices for aviation fuel skyrocketed, as did ticket prices. Companies that have a Boeing 747 in their fleet are faced with its unprofitability; the plane often flies empty. However, on particularly busy routes and on intercontinental flights, the Jumbo Jet has been and remains a popular model.

The longest passenger plane in the world

This is a record holder from the latest history of aviation - the Boeing 747-8, which began production in 2008. It is a modification of the legendary Boeing 747, with significant modifications. The designers extended the fuselage as much as possible, redesigned the wing and worked on efficiency in operation.

The length of the Boeing 747-8 is 76.25 m, making it the longest passenger airliner in the world. However, it is also the heaviest US aircraft, its take-off weight is 447 tons, which is still considered a record in the entire history of aircraft manufacturing in America.

Specifications:

• length – 76.25 m;
• height – 19.35 m;
• wingspan - 68.45 m.

In addition to cargo, this aircraft can accommodate up to 581 passengers.

The most "hardy" aircraft

For the successful operation of aircraft, in addition to capacity and payload capacity, it is important how far they can travel without refueling. Today, the record holder for long-distance flights is the Boeing 777, which is capable of flying half the circumference of the Earth at a time - 20,000 km. However, this is the maximum value of the flight length; in normal practice, the distance covered is 9000-17000 km.

Interesting. The Boeing 777E is the first modern airliner to be created using computer modeling instead of paper drawings. In the early 1990s. Such technologies have become a breakthrough in the aircraft industry, since 3D modeling makes it possible to eliminate errors in the joining of parts even at the design stage.

The Boeing 777 has different modifications depending on the fuselage length and range. 777-300ER is one of the most “hardy” and popular modifications. It is a large airliner with two turbofan engines. Maximum capacity – 550 people.

As a long-haul aircraft, the Boeing 777 can stay in the air for up to 18 hours without a break. However, there is a limitation on the duration of the crew’s work shift, so there are special places in the cabin for pilots and flight attendants to sleep and rest.

Leader in wing length

The Hughes H-4 Hercules entered the TOP 10 largest aircraft in the world due to its wing size. Despite the fact that this is the oldest aircraft described here, no one has yet been able to break its record: the span reaches 98 meters.

The plane took off for the first and last time in 1947; it has a sad history of creation. At the beginning of World War II, the American government commissioned the development of a military aircraft from Hughes Aircraft under the management of Howard Hughes. However, the search for a perfect solution took a long time. Hughes could not be satisfied with the result. In addition, there was a shortage of aluminum in the world. As a result, the war ended, but there was still no plane. Only two years after the end of hostilities, the Hughes H-4 Hercules made its first flight. Surprisingly, this device was made entirely of plywood and, in fact, was a flying boat.

Specifications:

• length – 66.45 m;
• height – 24.08 m;
• wingspan - 97.54 m;
• maximum take-off weight – 180 tons.

Interesting. This “boat” could transport 750 soldiers in full uniform to the battlefield. However, in reality, her flight was limited to two kilometers above Los Angeles. After which the plane remained in the personal property of G. Hughes, who until his death annually spent a lot of money on maintaining it in working condition. After the death of the designer, the giant was sent to a museum in California to attract tourists. The film The Aviator, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, is based on the life of engineer Howard Hughes.

Not long ago (May 31, 2017), the Hughes H-4 Hercules record for wingspan was surpassed: the Stratolaunch aircraft with a wingspan of 117 meters was presented to the world. However, it has not yet made a single flight, so Hughes’ brainchild is still the leader among the models in use.

The largest cargo plane in the world

This title belongs to the An-225, designed in the USSR at the Kiev Mechanical Development Plant, at the Design Bureau named after. O. K. Antonova. The Ukrainian name for the heavy-duty truck is “Mriya” (translated as “dream”). The first flight took place in 1988.

The impetus for the creation of Mriya was the Soviet space program Buran to develop a reusable transport spacecraft. To implement ambitious plans, an aircraft with an ultra-high payload capacity was required to participate in the cargo transportation of ship components. The designed aircraft had to lift at least 250 tons at a time and have attachments for transporting external cargo.

The designers took the An-124-100 (“Ruslan”) as a basis and changed some components and parts to obtain the necessary technical characteristics. This is how the largest transport aircraft An-225 appeared. Despite the fact that Mriya was created for very specific tasks, it has become a universal vessel in cargo aviation.

The cargo compartment is sealed and has the following dimensions:

• length – 43 m;
• height – 18.2 m;
• width – 6.4 m;
• wingspan - 88.4 m;
• weight – 250 tons.

The plane has space for 6 crew members and 88 people accompanying the cargo. The likelihood that the plane will fail during flight is extremely low - all important systems are duplicated 4 times.

While the Mriya has been created in a single copy, the winding down of the Buran program has also suspended the production of the heavyweight aircraft. It is known that the design bureau named after. Antonova continues to develop the second modification of the giant.

The largest military aircraft

The An-124 Ruslan, the prototype of the An-225, was at one time considered the largest aircraft in the world. It is now the largest military aircraft with a huge payload capacity. It has four turbojet engines, a wide fuselage and two decks. The lower one is for cargo, the upper one is for the crew (8 people) and accompanying people (up to 21 people). The volume of the cargo compartment is 1000 cubic meters. An-124 lifts 120 tons into the air.

Specifications:

• length – 69.1 m;
• height – 21.08 m;
• wingspan - 73.3 m;
• weight – 178.4 tons;
• take-off weight - 392 tons.

"Ruslan" was also developed at the Design Bureau named after. O.K. Antonova, like “Mriya”. The purpose of its creation is to transport transcontinental ballistic missiles. However, the result of the work of Soviet designers exceeded expectations - the An-124 turned out to be a universal military aircraft that can transport large military equipment. "Ruslan" was mass-produced; a total of 56 copies were produced. In the early 2000s. There were attempts to resume its production by Ukraine and Russia, but due to the worsening political relations between the two countries, the project was curtailed.

The largest turboprop aircraft in the world

The An-22 was developed in the Soviet Union in the 1960s, at the height of the Cold War. It was codenamed “product 100”. As a result, five years later the world saw this gigantic “product” called AN-22 “Antey”. This is the first Soviet and Russian aircraft with a wide fuselage. It is still considered the largest aircraft with a turboprop engine. The diameter of the propellers is 62 cm, and the power of each of the four engines is 11227 kW.

Specifications:

• length – 57.31 m;
• height – 12.53 m;
• wingspan – 64.40 m;
• weight – 119 kg;
• load capacity – 60 tons.

"Antey" is capable of transporting heavy and large military equipment over long distances and is used for airborne landings.

The heaviest combat aircraft in history

The Tu-160 is a representative of a completely different generation of military aircraft. It flies at supersonic speed and is a strategic bomber. So far this is the largest and most powerful aircraft in Russia and the world in the history of military aviation.

The Tu-160 concept was born in the 1970-1980s. as a response of Russian strategists to the military developments of the United States and NATO. The future aircraft was supposed to fly to the neighboring continent and overcome enemy air defenses at supersonic speed.

Specifications:

• length – 54.1 m;
• the wing is variable sweep, so the span is different: 55.7/50.7/35.6 m;
• height – 13.1 m;
• weight – 110 t.
• maximum take-off weight – 275 tons.

Most Tu-160 missile carriers are named after prominent figures in Russian aviation. As of 2017, our country Russia has 16 aircraft in service. There are plans to completely modernize them.

The largest mass-produced cargo aircraft

The “Largest Aircraft” selection is completed by the American cargo aircraft Lockheed C-5 Galaxy. Today it is the largest model among mass-produced cargo carriers. Since 1968, the aircraft has been successfully operated by the US Army, and regular upgrades allow it to be considered modern and promising.

Specifications:

• aircraft length - 75.54 m;
• aircraft height – 19.85 m;
• wingspan - 67.88 m;
• weight – 169.6 tons.
• maximum take-off weight – 379.6 tons.

The aircraft can fly over 4 thousand kilometers at an altitude of 10 km without refueling. The maximum developed speed is 920 km.

The largest aircraft are milestones in the history of aviation. They demonstrate how engineering thought developed, what path the designers saw before them. As history shows, the most outstanding achievements in aircraft manufacturing are associated with military operations.

In the old days, a person could only look into the heavenly expanses and dream of rising to them. Nowadays, thanks to modern technologies that have made it possible to invent airplanes, a seemingly impossible dream has become a reality. Since the invention of the first aircraft model, the human mind has been trying to create more advanced and high-tech models, which is why real air giants appear.

The largest aircraft in Russia and the world is the Airbus A380. Its design provides for the presence of two decks, and the dimensions of the liner are as follows:

1. The height reaches 24 m.
2. 80 m – wingspan.
3. 73 m is the length of the air giant.

The aircraft can accommodate 555 people, while the charter model can accommodate up to 853 passengers. Without a forced landing, air transport can cover approximately 15.5 thousand km, while it consumes fuel very economically, 3.5 liters per 100 km. After the creation of the Airbus A380, the Boeing 747 was removed from the podium, which for more than 30 years confidently held its leadership position as the largest type of air transport.

Boeing 747

The largest passenger aircraft in Russia, which has held the championship for more than 30 years, is the Boeing 747, the services of which continue to be used by our compatriots. It was this type of air vehicle that was the first to cover a huge distance without a transfer along the London-Sydney route. The airliner spent 20.5 hours in the sky, during which time it was able to cover a distance of 18.5 thousand km.

An-225 "Mriya"

An-225 or Mriya

The largest Russian aircraft, for transporting large loads, was created in the late 80s of the last century by Ukrainian scientists (as part of the USSR). The design of this giant provides for a turbojet six-engine high-wing aircraft, in a two-keel design. The wings of the air giant resemble the outline of an arrow.

When developing the airliner, a program called “Buran” was involved, according to which the Soviet government needed the strongest air transport capable of transporting the heaviest loads. The main cargo for transporting the new powerful aircraft was launch vehicles. They had to be transported from the Soviet cosmodrome to the places where the rockets were being assembled. To do this, engineers needed to create an aerial giant that could easily transport more than 200 tons of cargo. As a result, the An-225 was created.

Characteristics of the cargo giant:

• 6.6 m – width of air transport;
• 4.6 m – height of the airliner;
• 44 m is the length of the vessel.

For those accompanying cargo on board the An-225 there are 88 seats. The crew cabin is designed for 6 crew members. Each control system is equipped with quadruple redundancy.

The height of the aircraft reaches 18.5 meters, that is, equal to the height of a house of five floors.

The size of air transport is so large that for landing it needs a runway whose length will be at least 2500 meters. The chassis of the famous airliner is the largest in the world, the number of wheels is 32. This number of wheels allows it to easily withstand a significant weight of 650 tons, which is exactly how much a loaded aircraft weighs. To make braking more convenient, pilots can switch the aircraft's engines to reverse thrust.

To facilitate the loading process, it is possible to press the front part of the vessel to the ground using high-power jacks. This process makes it easy to load the heaviest cargo that needs to be transported on board.

Currently, there is only one analogue of such an airliner in the world. According to the engineers' plans, in the near future, the creation of a similar model. According to some reports, the development of the “twin brother” An-25 is progressing successfully, with approximately 75% of the work already completed.

An-124 "Ruslan"

"Ruslan" or An-124

The largest aircraft, Ruslan, was created a little earlier than the An-225. Air transport was created for the purpose of transporting ballistic and intercontinental missiles. But after the transport was created, the result surprised even the creators. The roomy “Ruslan” began to be used for other purposes, for example, for transporting both combat and landing equipment. The cost of one such aircraft is equal to 300 million dollars.

The air giant first saw the sky at the end of 1982, and was put into operation by the end of 1987.

Airliner characteristics:

• 69.5 m – its length;
• 21.5 m – height of the vessel;
• 73.5 m – span of one wing;
• 174 tons – weight of unloaded transport;
• 866 km/h – speed;
• The flight lasts 14,500 km.

The design of the airliner is made as a high-wing aircraft, the wings of the aircraft are swept, with a single-fin tail. The aircraft design has 2 decks. The first has a main and interchangeable cabin for crew members, and a cabin for those accompanying the cargo, designed for 21 people. The cargo is transported on the second deck, the volume of which is 1060 cubic meters. m.

To make the loading or loading process easier and more convenient, the aircraft has a special system that helps tilt the cabin in the desired direction. The presence of 24 wheels allows the air giant to land on a dirt road, if necessary.

On the Ruslan, engineers installed four turbojet engines, the thrust of each is equal to 23,450 kg/cm. Such power allows you to lift cargo weighing up to 155 tons into the sky.

The aircraft has:

• automatic EDSU system;
• automated helm control;
• four-channel hydraulic complex;
• a reliable system for life support for crew members and power supply.

To control the air giant, 35 modern computer systems are used. The largest Russian aircraft, the Ruslan, was able to regain the USSR's leading position in the creation of heavy air transport. It set 21 world records in 1985 for transporting heavy loads over long distances.

Ukrainian aircraft "Mriya" An - 225
It is the largest in the world and the only flying example of the An-22 model.

The huge transport plane can carry up to 250 tons of cargo, which is four times the maximum payload of a Boeing 747. There is enough space inside the An-225 to fit the entire body of a Boeing 737. It also surpasses in various respects the world's largest passenger aircraft, the A380-800: While the latter has four engines, a wingspan of 80 meters, and a take-off weight of 560 tons, the giant An-225 has six engines, a wingspan of 88 meters, and the starting weight is 600 tons. The largest aircraft in the world also has a record number of wheels - as many as 32! The machine was put into operation in 1988. Plans to fly another plane never materialized. Its construction began in the 1990s, but was never completed. There were attempts to resume it several times, but in 2012 the project was frozen because, due to the financial crisis, the number of orders for transport services decreased significantly. The second copy of the An-225 is still in the hangar to this day.

Construction of the first An-225 began in Kyiv during the Cold War between the USA and the USSR, when both superpowers invested huge amounts of money in the development of new weapons and vehicles.

Giant's story

The aircraft was intended to transport military goods, as well as components of Soviet missiles and the Buran spacecraft to Baikonur. In December 1988, the giant made its first flight. But soon the Soviet Union collapsed, and with it the military’s dreams of creating a whole series of huge transporters collapsed. After the fall of the Iron Curtain, worldwide disarmament began, and the need for such machines disappeared. We also had to save on space flights. In 1994, funding for the Energia-Buran space program ceased, and the aircraft was mothballed. The engines were removed and installed on a smaller model - the An-124. And only seven years later the huge machine was again fit for flight. Later it was planned to develop a project for a larger version of the aircraft - the An-325 with eight engines, but the idea was not realized. Projects for aerospace systems around the world are being developed on the Antonov base.

The An-225 is not only the largest, but also the heaviest aircraft in the world

How does he fly

The six super-powerful D-18T engines installed on it consume three tons of kerosene per hour. Despite its enormous weight, a three-kilometer runway is enough to accelerate the Mrie. The total area of ​​the wings, each of which is almost 90 m wide, is equal to the area of ​​a football field. The giant's speed is 805 km/h. It can stay in the air for 18 hours and cover a distance of over 15,000 km. However, when fully loaded, an aircraft in the world can only fly from 2,500 to 3,000 km. Its tanks hold 300 tons of fuel.

The maximum payload of the machine is 250 tons, which corresponds, for example, to the weight of more than 200 cows.

What can fit in the cargo area?

The giant plane is controlled by a crew of six people. It is serviced by 11 technicians. In 2009, Mriya delivered a generator weighing 190 tons, intended for a gas turbine power plant, from the German city of Han to Yerevan (Armenia). This achievement is recorded in the Guinness Book of Records. Transportation of cargo that does not fit into the cargo compartment of the AN-225 occurs using the “hookpack” system, that is, they are attached to the top. In the passenger version, Ukrainian designers planned to make three decks with seats for 800 passengers.

Video of one of the largest aircraft in the world

Every flight is a big event

The huge machine is used to transport special cargo. Much more often, transportation is carried out by a smaller aircraft - An-124. “Mriya” is usually remembered when it is necessary to transport a large cargo entirely. When a giant arrives at its destination, it is always a special event. Journalists and crowds of curious people gather at the airport. This was the case, for example, in June 2013, when Mriya first landed at the airport in the Swiss city of Basel.

These planes were also once record holders.

1.Dornier Do X (1929).

It was the largest, fastest and after the First World War. Designed by the German company Dornier. In 1933, Germany abandoned the use of these machines, as they were considered insufficiently economical and safe, and also unsuitable for military purposes. After this, only two examples were built and sent to Italy. German designers planned to create a new, improved model based on the Do X - the Dornier Do 20, but due to World War II this project was not implemented.

2. Tupolev ANT-20 “Maxim Gorky”

(1934) A 1930s behemoth with eight engines and a wingspan almost like a modern Boeing 747. It was built in Voronezh and was intended primarily for propaganda. It was equipped with a film installation, a darkroom, a printing press, etc. Additionally, the vehicle could transport up to 72 passengers.

The largest machine with turboprop engines, which is still the most commonly used. It flies at high subsonic speeds. - a “hump” in which the pilot’s cabin is located above the main passenger deck. For transport models it is somewhat shorter.

Previously, it was the most powerful transport aircraft. When it lands at foreign airports, it probably arouses no less interest than Mriya. The wingspan is 64 meters and the unloaded weight is 114 tons.

Before its introduction, the A-380 was the second largest aircraft in mass production. It remains the world's largest military aircraft. It is called the “little brother” of the An-225. The An-124 made its first flight abroad in 1985. It was presented to the public at the Paris Air Show. The vehicle is highly valued by both Russian military aviation and commercial cargo transportation organizations. The upper deck can accommodate 88 passengers.

People are always attracted by some kind of record - record-breaking aircraft always receive great attention

3rd place: Airbus A380

The Airbus A380 is a wide-body, double-deck jet passenger aircraft created by Airbus S.A.S. (formerly Airbus Industrie) is the largest production airliner in the world.

The height of the aircraft is 24.08 meters, length is 72.75 (80.65) meters, wingspan is 79.75 meters. The A380 can fly non-stop over distances of up to 15,400 km. Capacity - 525 passengers in three classes; 853 passengers in single-class configuration. There is also a cargo modification of the A380F with the ability to transport cargo up to 150 tons over a distance of up to 10,370 km.

The development of the Airbus A380 took about 10 years, the cost of the entire program was about 12 billion euros. Airbus says it needs to sell 420 planes to recoup its costs, although some analysts estimate the figure could be much higher.
According to the developers, the most difficult part in creating the A380 was the problem of reducing its weight. It was solved through the widespread use of composite materials both in structural structural elements and in auxiliary units, interiors, etc.

To reduce the weight of the aircraft, advanced technologies and improved aluminum alloys were also used. Thus, the 11-ton center section consists of 40% of its mass from carbon fiber reinforced plastic. The fuselage top and side panels are made from Glare hybrid material. Laser welding of stringers and skin was used on the lower fuselage panels, which significantly reduced the number of fasteners.
Airbus claims that the Airbus A380 burns 17% less fuel per passenger than “the current largest aircraft” (presumably referring to the Boeing 747). The less fuel is burned, the lower the carbon dioxide emissions. For an airplane, CO2 emissions per passenger are only 75 grams per kilometer traveled. This is almost half the carbon dioxide emissions limit set by the European Union for cars produced in 2008.

The first A320 aircraft sold was delivered to the customer on October 15, 2007 after a long acceptance testing phase and entered service on October 25, 2007, making a commercial flight between Singapore and Sydney. Two months later, Singapore Airlines President Chew Chong Seng said the Airbus A380 was performing better than expected and was consuming 20% ​​less fuel per passenger than the company's existing Boeing 747-400s.

The aircraft's upper and lower decks are connected by two staircases at the bow and tail, wide enough to accommodate two passengers shoulder to shoulder. In the 555-passenger configuration, the A380 has 33% more passenger seats than the Boeing 747–400 in its standard three-class configuration, but the cabin has 50% more space and volume, resulting in more space per passenger.

The maximum certified capacity of the aircraft is 853 passengers when configured with a single economy class. The announced configurations have a number of passenger seats from 450 (for Qantas Airways) to 644 (for Emirates Airline, with two comfort classes).

2nd place: Hughes H-4 Hercules

Hughes H-4 Hercules (eng. Hughes H-4 Hercules) is a transport wooden flying boat developed by the American company Hughes Aircraft under the leadership of Howard Hughes. This 136-ton aircraft, originally designated the NK-1 and informally nicknamed the Spruce Goose, was the largest flying boat ever built, and its wingspan remains a record to this day. - 98 meters. It was designed to transport 750 soldiers when fully equipped.

At the beginning of World War II, the US government allocated $13 million to Hughes to build a prototype of a flying ship, but the aircraft was not ready by the end of hostilities, which was explained by a shortage of aluminum, as well as Hughes’ stubbornness in creating a flawless machine.

Specifications

Crew: 3 people
Length: 66.45 m
Wingspan: 97.54 m
Height: 24.08 m
Fuselage height: 9.1 m
Wing area: 1061.88 m?
Maximum take-off weight: 180 tons
Payload weight: up to 59,000 kg
Fuel capacity: 52,996 l
Engines: 8? air cooling Pratt&Whitney R-4360-4A 3000 l. With. (2240 ​​kW) each
Propellers: 8? four-blade Hamilton Standard, diameter 5.23 m

Flight characteristics

Top speed: 351 mph (565.11 km/h)
Cruising speed: 250 mph (407.98 km/h)
Flight range: 5634 km
Service ceiling: 7165 m.

Despite its nickname, the plane is built almost entirely from birch, or more precisely from birch plywood glued to a template.

The Hercules aircraft, piloted by Howard Hughes himself, made its first and only flight on November 2, 1947, when it rose to a height of 21 meters and covered approximately two kilometers in a straight line over Los Angeles Harbor.

After a long period of storage (Hughes maintained the aircraft in operational condition until his death in 1976, spending up to $1 million a year on this), the aircraft was sent to a museum in Long Beach, California.

The plane is visited by about 300,000 tourists annually. The biography of the aircraft's creator, Howard Hughes, and the aircraft's testing are shown in Martin Scorsese's film "The Aviator."

It is currently on display at the Evergreen International Aviation Museum in McMinnville, Oregon, where it was moved in 1993.

1st place: AN-225 What a plane! Of course, he's Russian!

This machine was designed and built in a very short time: the first drawings began to be created in 1985, and in 1988 the transport aircraft was already built. The reason for such a short deadline can be quite easily explained: the fact is that the Mriya was created on the basis of well-developed components and assemblies of the An-124 Ruslan. For example, the fuselage of the Mriya has the same transverse dimensions as the An-124, but is longer; the span and area of ​​the wings have increased. The wing has the same structure as the Ruslan, but additional sections have been added to it. The An-225 now has two additional engines. The aircraft's landing gear is similar to that of the Ruslan, but it has seven instead of five struts. The cargo compartment has been changed quite seriously. Initially, two aircraft were laid down, but only one An-225 was completed. The second copy of the unique aircraft is approximately 70% complete and can be completed at any time, subject to proper funding. To complete its construction, an amount of 100-120 million dollars is needed.

On February 1, 1989, the aircraft was shown to the general public, and in May of the same year, the An-225 made a non-stop flight from Baikonur to Kyiv, carrying a Buran weighing sixty tons on its back. That same month, the An-225 delivered the Buran spacecraft to the Paris Air Show and created a real sensation there. In total, the aircraft holds 240 world records, including the transportation of the heaviest cargo (253 tons), the heaviest monolithic cargo (188 tons) and the longest cargo.

The An-225 Mriya aircraft was originally created for the needs of the Soviet space industry. In those years, the Soviet Union was building Buran, its first reusable ship, an analogue of the American shuttle. To implement this project, a transport system was needed that could be used to transport large loads. It was for these purposes that “Mriya” was conceived. In addition to the components and assemblies of the spacecraft itself, it was necessary to deliver parts of the Energia rocket, which were also colossal in size. All this was delivered from the production site to the final assembly points. The units and components of Energia and Buran were manufactured in the central regions of the USSR, and final assembly took place in Kazakhstan, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. In addition, the An-225 was initially designed so that in the future it could transport the finished Buran spacecraft. The An-225 could also transport large cargo for the needs of the national economy, for example, equipment for the mining, oil and gas industries.

In addition to participating in the Soviet space program, the aircraft was to be used to transport oversized cargo over long distances. The An-225 Mriya will carry out this work today.

The general functions and tasks of the machine can be described as follows:

transportation of general purpose cargo (large, heavy) with a total weight of up to 250 tons;
intracontinental non-stop transportation of cargo weighing 180–200 tons;
intercontinental transportation of goods weighing up to 150 tons;
transportation of heavy bulky cargo on an external sling with a total weight of up to 200 tons;
use of aircraft for air launch of spacecraft.

The unique aircraft was given other, even more ambitious tasks, and they were also related to space. The An-225 Mriya aircraft was supposed to become a kind of flying cosmodrome, a platform from which spaceships and rockets would be launched into orbit. "Mriya", according to the designers, was supposed to be the first stage for the launch of reusable spacecraft of the "Buran" type. Therefore, initially the designers were faced with the task of making an aircraft with a payload capacity of at least 250 tons.

The Soviet shuttle was supposed to launch from the “back” of the plane. This method of launching vehicles into low-Earth orbit has many serious advantages. Firstly, there is no need to build very expensive ground-based launch complexes, and secondly, launching a rocket or ship from an airplane seriously saves fuel and allows you to increase the payload of the spacecraft. In some cases, this may make it possible to completely abandon the first stage of the rocket.

Various air launch options are currently being developed. They are working especially actively in this direction in the United States, and there are also Russian developments.

Alas, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the “air launch” project with the participation of the An-225 was practically buried. This aircraft was an active participant in the Energia-Buran program. The An-225 carried out fourteen flights with Buran on the top of the fuselage, and hundreds of tons of various cargo were transported as part of this program.

After 1991, funding for the Energia-Buran program ceased, and the An-225 was left without work. Only in 2000 did the modernization of the machine begin for use for commercial purposes. The An-225 Mriya aircraft has unique technical characteristics, enormous payload capacity and can transport large cargo on its fuselage - all this makes the aircraft very popular for commercial transportation.

Since that time, the An-225 has performed many flights and transported hundreds of tons of various cargo. Some transport operations can be safely called unique and have no analogues in the history of aviation. The aircraft took part in humanitarian operations several times. After the devastating tsunami, he delivered power generators to Samoa, transported construction equipment to earthquake-ravaged Haiti, and helped eliminate the consequences of the earthquake in Japan.

In 2009, the An-225 aircraft was modernized and its service life was extended.

The An-225 Mriya aircraft is designed according to the classical design, with high-raised, slightly swept wings. The cabin is located in the front of the aircraft, the cargo hatch is also located in the nose of the vehicle. The aircraft is made according to a two-fin design. This decision is related to the need to transport cargo on the fuselage of the aircraft. The An-225 airframe has very high aerodynamic properties; the lift-to-drag ratio of this aircraft is 19, which is an excellent indicator not only for transport aircraft, but also for passenger aircraft. This, in turn, significantly improved the aircraft's performance and reduced fuel consumption.

Almost the entire internal space of the fuselage is occupied by the cargo compartment. Compared to the An-124, it has become 10% larger (by seven meters). At the same time, the wing span increased by only 20%, two more engines were added, and the aircraft’s carrying capacity increased by one and a half times. During the construction of the An-225, drawings, components and assemblies of the An-124 were actively used, thanks to which the aircraft was able to be created in such a short time. Here are the main differences between the An-225 and the An-124 “Ruslan”:

New center section;
fuselage length increased;
the single-fin tail was replaced with a double-fin;
lack of a tail cargo hatch;
the number of main landing gear struts has been increased from five to seven;
external cargo fastening and pressurization system;
two additional D-18T engines were installed.

Unlike the Ruslan, the Mriya has only one cargo hatch, which is located in the bow of the aircraft. Like its predecessor, Mriya can change the ground clearance and angle of the fuselage, which is extremely convenient during loading and unloading operations. The chassis has three supports: a front two-post and two main ones, each of which consists of seven posts. Moreover, all racks are independent of each other and are produced separately.

To take off without cargo, the plane needs a runway 2400 meters long, with cargo - 3500 meters.

The An-225 has six D-18T engines suspended under the wings, as well as two auxiliary power units located inside the fuselage.

The cargo compartment is sealed and equipped with all the necessary equipment for loading operations. Inside the fuselage, the An-225 can transport up to sixteen standard aviation containers (each weighing ten tons), fifty passenger cars, or any cargo weighing up to two hundred tons (turbines, especially large cargo vehicles, generators). On top of the fuselage there are special fastenings for transporting large cargo.D

Technical characteristics of An-225 "Mriya"

Wingspan, m 88.4
Length, m 84.0
Height, m ​​18.2
Weight, kg

Empty 250000
Maximum takeoff 600000
Fuel weight 300000
Engine 6*TRDD D-18T
Specific fuel consumption, kg/kgf·h 0.57-0.63
Cruising speed, km/h 850
Practical range, km 15600
Range, km 4500
Practical ceiling, m 11000
Crew of six people
Payload, kg 250000-450000.

An-225 is a Soviet super-heavy-lift transport jet aircraft developed by the Design Bureau named after. O.K. Antonov, is the largest aircraft in the world.