the marvel of flight never ceases to amaze and the spectacle is that much more unbelievable
when the aircraft are longer than olympic swimming pools heavier than the world's biggest tanks and
taller than five-story buildings here are the top 10 biggest planes in the world flying today
antonov 225
the biggest cargo plane of all time this soviet era behemoth was capable of carrying 650 tons
it holds the record for the single largest item carried as a payload at 418 834 pounds and was
the heaviest aircraft ever constructed it also set the record for the most weight carried by
a cargo plane at a whopping 280 tons which is as much as 2.5 blue whales or 3.5 space shells
it had a crew of six was 84 meters long had a wingspan of 88.4 meters had a fuel
capacity of more than 300 000 kilograms and was powered by six progress d18t turbofans
that could generate a cruising speed of 500 miles per hour and a maximum speed of 530 miles per hour
lockheed c5 galaxy
with a payload capacity of almost 135 tons the cfod galaxy is the largest aircraft
routinely operated by the u.s military the air force announced it was reactivating the monster
airlifter in may 2017. the c5 has enough cargo space to carry two m1 abrams tanks 16 humvees
three blackhawks or a variety of other vehicles
without cargo the c5 can fly up to 7000 miles
without refueling making it the longest range military airlifter in the world
when the air force needs a lot of tonnages moved quickly it turns to the c5
boeing 747 dreamlifter
in the 2000s boeing found it needed a cargo plane with an enormous amount of storage to
transport components for the 787 dreamliner which is parts made all over the world the
solution was to take its biggest plane the 747 and build a custom cargo hold around it
at 65 000 cubic feet the dream lifter has the largest cargo hole in the world
capable of carrying three times the volume of a 747 400 a freighter the four dream lifters
boeing made also use the longest cargo loader in the world and can haul payloads up to 125 tons
and tonnov124 ruslan
here's another monster designed and built by the antenop design bureau
the 124 ruslan operated by the russian air force is the largest military aircraft in the world
for almost 30 years after its introduction in 1984 the antonov 124 was the largest
and heaviest cargo aircraft in the world besides the single antonov 225
the 7478 overtook the antonov 124 in 2011. with a reported paler capacity of 165 tons
the antonov 124 can haul even more than the cfo galaxy though its range isn't as long a surviving
engineering triumph of the soviets the antonov 124 continues to fly airlifting missions for russia
airbus beluga excel
developed in 2014 the beluga xl flew its first operational flight in 2020 after
more than 200 test flights it has officially joined airbus sea's already behemoth fleet
to move certified big things around the world the plane is massive
it's 206 feet long and has the largest cross-section of any cargo plane in the world
a pair of rolls-royce trent 700 turbofan engines help keep the hulking plane airborne
boeing 747.
the dream lifter is already on the list but it only represents a small part of the
accomplishments of the queen of the skies boeing has built over 1 500 boeing 747 and the planes
have served as the largest passenger and cargo aircraft in the world a military command center
in the sky air force one and a space shuttle lifter and infrared telescope fly for nasa
airbus a380 the airbus a380 is the european 747 and the largest passenger aircraft ever
made with room for 850 passengers it flies some of the longest routes around the planet but like
the 747 it may be starting to get replaced with smaller planes with a similar range the airbus
a380 is truly the world's flying bus flying more people at a time than any other plane in history
stratolaunch
so
you