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

The huge transport aircraft can carry up to 250 tons of cargo, four times the maximum payload of a Boeing 747. There is enough space inside the An-225 to fit the entire body of the Boeing-737. It also surpasses the world's largest passenger aircraft A380-800 in various indicators: If the latter has four engines, a wingspan of 80 meters, and a takeoff weight of 560 tons, then 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 commissioned in 1988. Plans to get another plane into the air never came to fruition. Its construction began in the 1990s, but was never completed. Several attempts were made to restart it, but in 2012 the project was put on hold, because due to the financial crisis, the number of orders for transportation decreased greatly. The second copy of the An-225 is still in the hangar.

The construction of the first An-225 began in Kyiv at the time of " cold war»between the US and the USSR, when both superpowers invested huge amounts of money in the development of new weapons and vehicles.

History of the giant

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 Soviet Union collapsed, and with it the dreams of the military about 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 money 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 - An-124. And only seven years later the huge machine was airworthy again. Later it was planned to develop a project for a larger version of the aircraft - An-325 with eight engines, but the idea was not implemented. On the basis of Antonov, projects of aerospace systems around the world are being developed.

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 the huge weight, there is enough to disperse the Mriya runway three kilometers long. total area wings, each of which is almost 90 m wide, is equal to the area football field. The speed of the giant 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 is only capable of flying from 2,500 to 3,000 km. Its tanks can 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 hold

The giant aircraft is operated by a crew of six. It is serviced by 11 technicians. In 2009 Mriya delivered from German city Khan in Yerevan (Armenia) a generator weighing 190 tons, designed for a gas turbine power plant. This achievement is recorded in the Guinness Book of Records. Transportation of goods that do not fit in cargo compartment AN-225, occurs according to the "hookepak" system, that is, they are attached from above. 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

A huge car 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 in its entirety. When a giant flies to its destination, it is always a special occasion. Journalists and crowds of curious people gather at the airport. This was the case, for example, in June 2013, when the Mriya landed for the first time at the airport in the Swiss city of Basel.

These planes were also once champions.

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 that, only two copies were built, which went to Italy. German designers planned to create a new, improved model, the Dornier Do 20, based on the Do X, but this project was not implemented due to World War II.

2. Tupolev ANT-20 "Maxim Gorky"

(1934) 1930s giant with eight engines and a wingspan almost like a modern Boeing 747. It was built in Voronezh and was intended primarily for agitation. It was equipped with a film installation, a photo lab, a printing press, etc. Additionally, the car 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. - "hump", in which the cockpit is located above the main passenger deck. For transport models, it is somewhat shorter.

It used to be the most powerful transport aircraft. When he lands in foreign airports, then it probably causes no less interest than Mriya. The wingspan is 64 meters, and the weight without load is 114 tons.

Prior to the advent of the A-380, it was the second largest mass-produced aircraft. So far, it remains the largest military aircraft in the world. It is called the "younger 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 machine is highly regarded as a Russian military aviation, and commercial organizations for the transportation of goods. The upper deck can accommodate 88 passengers.

The first passenger plane successfully took to the skies in 1913 with only 16 passengers on board. Modern liners are much more spacious.

The largest passenger aircraft entered our current Top 8. Not all of them have found wide application, but still each deserves attention.

8. IL-96-300

The liner can accommodate up to 300 passengers who sit in rows of 9 seats. Only 9 such liners are used on passenger lines. Many more aircraft are involved in cargo transportation.

The maximum flight range of the passenger modification is 9,000 km.

7. Airbus A340-600

The four-engine liner carries from 380 to 419 people for distances up to 14,600 km. Commercial operation of the model began in 2002.

The cost of the liner is from $245 million to $255 million.

6 Boeing 777-300ER

The aircraft in this modification can accommodate from 305 to 550 passengers. The liner can fly a record distance of 21,000 km without refueling.

The engines installed on the liner are by far the most powerful in civil aviation.

5 Boeing 787 Dreamliner

"Dreamliner" can accommodate up to 330 people maximum, depending on the modification. The aircraft made its first commercial flight in 2011. The Wi-Fi option on board this aircraft is widely advertised. The creation of multimedia presentations of the Dreamliner was supervised by the creative design studio of Elena Shutova.

To date, 183 aircraft have been produced, 22 of which are in the Aeroflot fleet.

4. Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental

This double-deck passenger liner can accommodate up to 467 passengers. The maximum flight range of the aircraft is 15,000 km.

To date, 74 liners of various modifications, including VIP, have been produced. Among Russian airlines Boeing 747-8 customer is Transaero. The company intends to receive 5 such liners by 2016.

3. McDonnell Douglas DC-10

The aircraft can accommodate up to 380 passengers. In 2010, 168 McDonnell Douglas DC-10s were in use around the world. Gradually, the liners were taken out of service, and today they are used for cargo transportation and military purposes.

The reason for the refusal to use the model for the transport of passengers was the high accident rate. This is one of the world.

2 Hughes H-4 Hercules

This aircraft, designed in 1947, was intended to transport 750 soldiers. The liner was developed under the guidance of tycoon Howard Hughes.

Hercules made one single flight, after which it was maintained by Hughes in working condition until 1976.

Today, the largest aircraft in terms of wingspan can be seen at the Aviation Museum in Oregon.

1 Airbus A380

The largest aircraft in the world made its first flight in 2005. A total of 139 Airbus A380 aircraft were produced, each of which costs $414 million. Only ten airlines can afford such an aircraft, including Lufthansa, Emirates, Air France.

Initially, 2 modifications of the liners were developed - for 555 and 853 passenger seats. Today in active development Airbus new a model that can carry up to 960 passengers.

The list of aircraft of the maximum size includes both military cargo transporters and aircraft capable of carrying more than five hundred passengers. The leaders among them are Airbus A380 and Boeing 747.

What models are included in the list of the largest aircraft?

The list of the largest aircraft in the world includes such giants as the An-225 and Airbus A380, Boeing 747 and An-22, ANT-20 and Airbus A340-600. All of them at one time became leaders in length or passenger capacity.

The listed aircraft were created in different countries world, some of them are transport and cargo, some are created only for the transport of passengers. The need for high-capacity aircraft is growing from year to year, which is associated with the desire of people to travel, explore new countries, and discover new continents.

Hughes H-4 Hercules

To date, the aircraft with the largest wingspan is the Hughes H-4 Hercules. It was built in 1947 from wood. It was supposed to be able to carry at least seven hundred and fifty troops with full equipment.

The height of this wooden giant is twenty-four meters, the length is sixty-six meters and forty-five centimeters, with a wingspan of ninety-eight meters. Today Hughes H-4 Hercules is located in Oregon and is a museum exhibit.

An-225

There is only one An-225 aircraft in the world. Its second name is "Mriya". In the eighties, it was created in Ukraine for air transportation and is a cargo aircraft. His Weight Limit takeoff - six hundred and forty tons.

The dimensions of the Mriya are also striking. With a height of twenty-four meters ten centimeters and a length of seventy-three meters, its wingspan is almost eighty-eight and a half meters. It is known that the construction of the second such aircraft is underway.

Airbus A380

Leader among passenger aircraft in terms of capacity is an airliner with the name Airbus A380. Its creator is Airbus S.A.S. Passengers in this aircraft are accommodated on two decks.

Being the largest among the mass-produced airliners, this one is also the most economical in terms of fuel consumption. For a hundred kilometers, fuel consumption per passenger is only three liters.

An-124

The An-124 aircraft, also called Ruslan, is one of the largest cargo-lifting aircraft in the world. This giant is used as a military aircraft. The length of Ruslan is sixty-nine meters ten centimeters, the height is a little over twenty-one meters with a wingspan of seventy-three meters thirty centimeters.

Lockheed C-5 Galaxy

Until 1982, the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy was considered the largest among the mass-produced transport and cargo aircraft. It is used today by the US Army and is capable of transporting at least two hundred and seventy soldiers.

This aircraft gains altitude up to ten kilometers and can cover a distance of five thousand six hundred kilometers without refueling. The maximum speed that the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy can develop is nine hundred and twenty kilometers.

Boeing 777-300ER

The record holder for the ability to fly without refueling is the Boeing 777-300ER, which can fly a distance of twenty-one thousand six hundred and one kilometers. This passenger airliner was developed in 1990, and four years later it made its first test flight, while operation began in 1995.

Among the twin-engine jet passenger aircraft, the Boeing 777-300ER remains the largest. On board, he can take from three hundred five to five hundred and fifty people.

Airbus A340-600

The large four-engine passenger aircraft is called the Airbus A340-600. It was created for intercontinental flights and could fly without additional refueling for a distance of fourteen thousand six hundred kilometers.

The height of the liner is seventeen meters thirty centimeters, the length is seventy-five meters thirty centimeters, and the wingspan is sixty-three and a half meters.

Boeing 747

At the time of its creation, the Boeing 747 was considered the largest, most spacious and heaviest passenger airliner. It held this record for thirty-seven years, until it was overtaken by the Airbus A380.

The Boeing 747 is also the world's most common aircraft. It is known that more than one and a half thousand such airliners were produced.

The largest passenger aircraft in the world

As you know, the most comfortable and fastest way to travel is by plane. For this reason, many modifications of passenger cars have been created. aircraft. The largest among them for a long time remained the passenger Boeing 747, released in 1969. Initially, its capacity was four hundred and fifty-two passengers, and after modification it increased to five hundred and sixty-eight.

In 2005, a new super-capacious large aircraft appeared - this is the Airbus A380. Surprisingly, its capacity is equal to eight hundred and fifty-two passengers. They are located on two decks. This four-engine aircraft has a wingspan of nearly eighty meters, a height of twenty-four meters, and a length of seventy-three meters. The weight of this “giant” is also surprising - without passengers it weighs almost two hundred and seventy-seven tons and is able to fly fifteen thousand two hundred kilometers without stopping for refueling.

And the largest cargo aircraft is called the An-225 Mriya. It was made in the USSR. .
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There was a time when man only dreamed of flying in the sky, people did not imagine that they could soar in the sky like a bird. But with the advent of airplanes, flying among the clouds became a reality. Colossal work was done by scientists and designers around the world before the world saw the first samples of flying "machines". So, among them there are leaders, models that surpass their competitors in the transportation of people or equipment. Let's talk about what are the largest planes in the world flying in our time.

It is hard to believe that these multi-ton machines are flying, also at such a great speed.
Now the largest aircraft in the world in passenger traffic called Airbus A380-800. It appeared in 2005, displacing the Boeing 747, which had been in the lead for a long 36 years. The length of the Airbus A380-800 is 73 meters, the wingspan is almost 80 meters, the height of the giant is 24 meters, and the weight of the car is 280 tons. The maximum number of passengers carried by the Airbus A380-800 can be up to 853 people on a charter flight!

Before Airbus "came out" in the light, about 12 billion euros and 10 years of painstaking work of designers were spent on its development. Without refueling, this aircraft can fly a distance of 15,400 kilometers. Airbus A380-800 is a very economical aircraft in terms of fuel consumption among liners of this class. To ensure low fuel consumption, it is required to make a very precise shape of the wing and hull. To achieve this precision, the most accurate milling machines in the world from Japan are used, which were developed specifically for the production of this aircraft. Fuel consumption per 100 km for 3 passengers is only three liters.

It should be noted that the capacity of Airbus compared to the Boeing 747 is greater, while its production costs 15% less. The first airline to operate the largest passenger aircraft in the world was Singapore Airlines. The airline operated the Singapore-Sydney flight with this aircraft.
Below you can see in the photo Airbus cabin A380-800 economy class

Record holder for flights without refueling

The Boeing 777-300ER, developed in 1990 and made its first test flight in 1994, can fly over distances of over twenty thousand kilometers without refueling. This is the first airliner in the world, during the design of which not a single drawing was drawn on paper. For the first time, a virtual computer assembly was used, which made it possible to avoid typical docking errors at the design stage. With the old technology using drawings, these errors were detected at the stage of pilot production, and full-scale modeling is very expensive for aviation. The program used was CATIA, one of the first 3D modeling programs.

The liner has the most powerful GE90-115B turbofan engines known to date, this model has an increased maximum take-off weight and additional fuel tanks. The introduction of such a modification made it possible to reduce fuel consumption by 1.4%, which was especially important at the height of the fuel crisis.
It also holds the record for the largest twin-engine passenger jet, which can accommodate 305-550 people.

The aircraft with the largest wingspan

The aircraft with the largest wingspan - Hughes H-4 was built of wood in 1947 for military purposes. The plane is built entirely from birch plywood. Structural elements were cut out and bent according to templates. The capacity of the aircraft is 750 people, not counting equipment. The wooden giant is now on display at the Oregon Museum, its parameters are:

• Aircraft height - 24 meters;
• The length of the aircraft is over 66 meters;
• Wingspan - 98 meters.

largest cargo plane

The An-225 Mriya has been the largest cargo aircraft in the world for many years. This huge machine was designed in Ukraine back in 1988, and is still used in military transport cargo transportation. The first flight of the Mriya took place on December 21, 1988.

Characteristics this aircraft the following:

• the length of this giant is 73 meters;
• a height of just over 24 meters (the height of an eight-story building);
• weight is 250 thousand kilograms;
• the total load capacity is 600 thousand kg.

The largest cargo plane in the world

The aircraft has six engines. On the this moment only one copy of the An-225 has been built in the world; it is at the disposal of Antonov Airlines. It was originally planned that the An-225 would help deliver rocket parts to the cosmodrome, because. At that time, the Buran space program was actively developing. They are building another one right now. aircraft, but its construction has not yet been completed.

On board the An-225 can easily accommodate up to 88 people who accompany the cargo. The cockpit can accommodate 6 people. As they say, what is the largest aircraft in the world in size will not be as cool in terms of performance. In Mriya, absolutely all control systems are repeated (duplicated) four times.

Unfortunately, due to the lack of production of some elements, after 25 years it is impossible to produce another such aircraft. But even one copy allows you to constantly earn money on the transportation of goods that could previously only be delivered by land or sea. In addition to commercial transportation, the aircraft is used in the delivery of goods for emergency situations, disasters, earthquakes, etc.

The largest mass-produced cargo aircraft

Military transport aircraft C-5 Galaxy

Lockheed C-5 Galaxy - was considered the largest transport and cargo aircraft until 1982. now operated by the US Army, it can accommodate up to 270 soldiers. The aircraft was taken into service in the already distant 1968. Over the years, it has proven its effectiveness and excellent performance properties. A lot of improvements were made in the design, the most important change was the development of a completely new wing, because the old design showed rapid wear.

The aircraft will continue to be produced, a complete transition to digital modern technologies of control systems and all avionics is planned. The aircraft can fly over five thousand kilometers without refueling, and rise to a height of 10 km, maximum speed developed by the machine - 920 km.

In contact with

Surprisingly, these huge monsters are flying in the sky. They weigh hundreds of tons, cost hundreds of millions of dollars, and are almost as long as a football stadium.

An-225 "Mriya" (translated from Ukrainian - "dream") is the heaviest cargo-lifting aircraft ever taken into the air. The maximum takeoff weight of the aircraft is 640 tons. The reason for the construction of the An-225 was the need to create an aviation transport system for the project of the Soviet reusable spacecraft "Buran". The plane exists in a single copy.

The aircraft was designed in the USSR and built in 1988 at the Kiev Mechanical Plant. "Mriya" set a world record for take-off weight and payload. On March 22, 1989, the An-225 flew with a load of 156.3 tons, thereby simultaneously breaking 110 world aviation records, which is a record in itself.

"Mriya" and small cars.

The Dornier Do X is a German passenger flying boat manufactured by Dornier. It was intended for operation on long-distance passenger airlines. The first flight took place in 1929. On October 20, during a 40-minute demonstration flight, this aircraft took off from lake constance with 169 passengers on board. This record remained unsurpassed in the first half of the 20th century.

Length - 40.05 m, wingspan - 48.0 m, number of passengers - 160.

The pilot's cockpit of the Dornier Do X did not have engine control levers. Instead, as on large sea ​​vessels At that time, the pilot transmitted (by telephone) the command to increase or decrease power to the flight engineer, located in a separate cockpit.

The flight engineer operates twelve aircraft engines:

This is the largest aircraft with one propeller, the largest propeller in history. Four linked 260-horsepower Mercedes D.IVa engines drove a huge propeller mounted in the nose.

Looking only at the photographs, it is completely impossible to understand the gigantic dimensions of the R.II 55/17 (For some reason, there are no photographs with people standing near the aircraft that give a sense of scale.

R.II could carry a maximum payload of 7,000 kg with a total flight weight of 15,000 kg ... The wingspan of the upper wing was 42.16 m, the length was 20.32 m. It made its first flight in January 1919.

Soviet propaganda, passenger multi-seat, 8-engine aircraft, the largest aircraft of its time with a land chassis. Built at the aircraft factory in the city of Voronezh. He made his first flight on June 17, 1934. Length - 33 meters.

In 1934, two world records were set on the plane, lifting loads of 10,000 kg and 15,000 kg to a height of 5,000 m. In 1935, during a demonstration flight, the plane crashed into the holiday village of Sokol. 49 people died

After the crash of the ANT-20, it was decided to build an improved backup ANT-20 bis, but neither he nor the ANT-20 were put into production.

This is a transport wooden flying boat, which received the unofficial nickname Spruce Goose (“Goldfinch, Dude”, literally “Spruce Goose”).

Weight - 130 tons, and its wingspan to this day remains a record - 98 meters (for Mriya - 88.4 m). It was designed to transport 750 soldiers fully equipped.

It is currently on display at the Evergreen International Aviation Museum in McMinnville, Oregon, where it was moved in 1993. The aircraft is visited annually by about 300,000 tourists.

The Bristol Brabazon is an experimental British passenger aircraft built in 1949. The largest aircraft ever built in the UK.

Length - 54m, wingspan - 70m.

By 1952, it became clear that the upper end of the transportation market would never pay for an aircraft built solely for first class transportation. Even in the "general" class, each passenger of the "Brabazon" had 6 cubic meters of internal volume, in the first class - 8 cubic meters; the plane literally "carried" these cubic meters of the fuselage. In March 1952, the government refused to support the completion of the second, turboprop, model, and in 1953 both cars went for scrap.

The world's first long-haul double-deck wide-body passenger aircraft. The first flight was made on February 9, 1969. At the time of its inception, the Boeing 747 was the largest, heaviest and most spacious passenger airliner, remaining so for 36 years, until the introduction of the A380, which first flew in 2005.

The Boeing 747-400 consists of 6 million parts (half of which are fasteners) manufactured in 33 different countries. During Operation Solomon (Israel's military operation to evacuate Ethiopian Jews to Israel), a world record was set for the number of passengers transported in one flight by one aircraft - on May 24, 1991, El Al's Boeing-747 transported 1122 passengers to Israel. Moreover, two babies were born in flight.

The new Boeing 747-8 is a new generation of the famous Boeing 747 series with a stretched fuselage, redesigned wing and improved cost efficiency. The 747-8 is the largest commercial aircraft built in the US and also the longest passenger aircraft in the world.

Length - 76.3 m, wingspan - 68.5 m.

This is a heavy long-range transport aircraft developed by OKB im. O. K. Antonova. It was created primarily for the air transportation of mobile launchers of intercontinental ballistic missiles. The prototype aircraft made its first flight on December 24, 1982 in Kyiv. The aircraft entered service with the military transport aviation of the USSR in January 1987, a total of 56 aircraft were built.

Carrying capacity - 120 tons, length - 69.1 m, wingspan - 73.3 m. In October 1997, a record was set for the mass of transported commercial cargo. A chemical reactor weighing 125 tons was delivered from Paris to Doha, and the total weight of the cargo with special equipment was 140 tons.

Repair and modernization of the An-124 Ruslan aircraft is now carried out at the aircraft building plant in Ulyanovsk.

It was built in 1966. It was the largest aircraft in the world before the An-225, which received the name "Caspian monster" from foreign intelligence agencies. Length - 92 m, wingspan - 37.6 m, maximum takeoff weight - 544,000 kg.

The largest production passenger airliner in the world, surpassing the Boeing 747 in capacity, which can carry only up to 525 passengers (the Boeing 747 was the largest passenger liner for 36 years). Its length is 73 meters, the wingspan is 79.75 meters, the maximum takeoff weight is 560 tons (the weight of the aircraft itself is 280 tons).

Start of production - 2004. The first aircraft sold was handed over to the customer on October 15, 2007.

Beriev Be-2500 "Neptune" is an ambitious project of a super-heavy amphibious transport aircraft, developed at the Taganrog TANTK them. G. M. Berieva. It is the largest aircraft ever conceived in history. Length - 115.5 m, wingspan - 125.5 m, take-off weight - 2.5 million kg, maximum payload - up to 1 million kg.

The project remained a project, and in the state program “Development of aviation industry for 2013-2025" there is no mention of the aircraft.

LZ 129 Hindenburg is a rigid airship built in 1936 in Germany. It was the largest airship in the world created up to that time.

The Hindenburg first took to the air in Friedrichshafen on March 4, 1936. May 6, 1937, completing another transatlantic flight, filled with flammable hydrogen, the Hindenburg caught fire and crashed, killing 35 of the 97 people on board, as well as one member of the ground crew. The collapse of the Hindenburg effectively marked the end of the commercial use of airships for transport purposes.