The largest aircraft in the world (27 photos). The three largest aircraft in the world

The world's largest aircraft June 5th, 2017

So the leaders in our selection of the MOST MOST are changing. Just recently, the Soviet An-225 Mriya with a wingspan of 88.4 meters was considered the largest aircraft. And now the plane, produced by the aerospace firm Allen Stratolaunch Systems, has the largest wingspan of any aircraft ever built - 385 feet, which is 117.3 m.

It was this figure that allowed the new aircraft to become a champion.

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A few days ago, the aircraft was taken out of the hangar for the first time for refueling tests. In addition, for the first time, the aircraft completely relied on its 28 wheels. This allowed for the first time to fully weigh the finished apparatus. The mass turned out to be approximately 226.8 tons. After that, the company will move on to the stage of ground and flight tests. It is said that this will happen in the coming weeks and months.

At the same time, the length reaches 72.5 m, and the height is 15.2 m. The maximum take-off weight reaches 590 tons. The device is lifted into the air by six Boeing 747-400 engines.

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Recall, Stratolaunch - the brainchild of Stratolaunch Systems, founded by Paul Allen (Paul Allen) and Burt Rutan (Burt Rutan).

Paul Allen founded Microsoft with Bill Gates in 1975 and left in 1983, selling most of his stake, and now invests in space projects.

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As for the first demonstration flight, it is scheduled for 2019. Recall that the aircraft will be used to launch rockets designed to put satellites into orbit.

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It took 6 years to build the aircraft. In 2011, the cost of the project was estimated at $300 million.

Paul Allen has been investing in space projects for a long time. One of the most famous is the suborbital manned reusable spacecraft SpaceShipOne, which was built as part of the space tourism program. The ship was first launched in 2003.

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This is a new approach to spaceflight that is reminiscent of testing the X-plane in the 1950s and 1960s.

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And what do you think? To what extent is this a potentially viable launch option for missiles?

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Ever since people learned how to design flying machines, they have been used to transport heavy and oversized cargo. In the history of aeronautics, many transport aircraft have been created, which impress with their huge size. In today's selection, we present to your attention the 11 largest cargo aircraft in the world.

11 PHOTOS

An-225 is currently the largest aircraft in the world, it has an extra large payload and can lift about 250 tons into the air. Initially, the An-225 was designed and built to carry components of the Energia launch vehicle and the Buran reusable spacecraft.

This transport aircraft is a modified version of the Boeing 747, it was built and used exclusively to transport parts of the Boeing 787 aircraft. The Dreamlifter's special feature is its unusual appearance.

The Super Guppy cargo plane was produced in five copies and today only one of them is used. It is owned by NASA and is operated to deliver bulky cargo and parts of spacecraft.

The An-124 is a heavy military transport aircraft for long-distance transportation, the largest in the world of all serial commercial cargo aircraft. It was designed primarily for the air transport of ICBM launchers, as well as for the transport of heavy military equipment. The carrying capacity of the An-124 is 120 tons. Aircraft maintenance can only be carried out in a special hangar built for the An-124 owner company from metal structures (similar principle http://ctcholding.kz/uslugi/bystrovozvodimye-zdaniya/iz-metallokonstruktsij/promyshlenennye-zdaniya).

American military transport aircraft, the second in terms of carrying capacity after the An-124. The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is capable of carrying six helicopters or two large tanks in its cargo hold. The total weight that the aircraft can carry is over 118 tons.

A jet cargo aircraft for the transport of bulky cargo, which was developed on the basis of the Airbus A300 series. The main purpose of creating the A300-600ST is to replace the Super Guppy transport aircraft. The name Beluga is due to the shape of the body, which resembles a beluga whale. The carrying capacity of the Beluga is 47 tons.

Soviet-made heavy transport aircraft, the largest turboprop aircraft in the world. Currently, the aircraft is used by the Russian Air Force and the Ukrainian cargo airline Antonov Airlines. The carrying capacity of the An-22 is 60 tons.

The C-17 Globemaster III is one of the US Air Force's most widely used military transport aircraft and is still in use today. The aircraft is designed to transport military equipment and troops, as well as to carry out tactical missions. The carrying capacity of the C-17 is more than 76 tons.

The A400M Atlas was designed and built as an international project for the air forces of France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and several other countries. It is a four-engine turboprop aircraft with a carrying capacity of up to 37 tons.

A Japanese Air Self-Defense Force twin-engine military transport aircraft designed as a replacement for the Kawasaki C-1 and Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft. The carrying capacity of the C-1 is 37 and a half tons.

Airbus A380 is the largest aircraft in the world. More precisely, a passenger plane.

The height of this giant is 24 meters (~ 8th floor of a residential building), the length and wingspan are almost 80 meters each. On 2 decks in the cabin of three classes, 525 passengers are freely accommodated, in a single-class configuration - 853!

The development of the Airbus A380 spent 12 billion euros. It can make non-stop flights over a distance of up to 15,400 km, and the maximum take-off weight of the aircraft is amazing - 560 tons.

welcome aboard the largest passenger aircraft in the world!

At the beginning of October, another dream related to aviation came true. Lufthansa is invited to a press tour to showcase one of its new Airbus A380 aircraft. The demonstration flight took place as part of the promotional campaign for the A380 show in European capitals.

It was possible not only to board the scheduled A380, but also to make a circular trip on a giant plane on the route Frankfurt - Prague - Budapest - Frankfurt, to stay with the pilots in the cockpit and film the work of the pilots during takeoff, flight and landing.

In ordinary life, these giants will not land at any such airport, so many people were waiting for the arrival of the A380 in the capitals of the Czech Republic and Hungary. Looking ahead, I will say that I did not even expect such solemn meetings and such a large number of spectators.

The sun came up, it was time for us to fly:

The first floor of the aircraft modification A380-800- these are three economy class cabins for 420 passengers. In total, such an A380 takes on board 526 passengers. By the end of the year, Lufthansa will already have 8 of the 18 ordered aircraft of these aircraft. The company invests about five billion euros in aircraft and airport infrastructure, maintenance, and crew training.

passenger seats for the economy class "Lufthansa" was developed by the famous German company Recaro. To be honest, I didn’t really like them - the backs are too thin and any movement in front of the seated passenger affects the comfort of the seated one.

Well done design portholes. With their standard external size inside the aircraft, they look large due to the enlarged internal frame. This large oval gives the impression of an open space inside the cabin.

The plane is very "quiet", the engines are almost inaudible. I was surprised by the short takeoff run - I followed the takeoff in Budapest, I thought that we would run for a long time along the runway, and the plane took off almost immediately.

The multimedia center with a 9″ screen is very good. In addition to the standard set with music, movies and games, the monitor displays a picture from three external cameras and complete information about the flight. Seat spacing 79 cm, seat width 52 cm:

For the duration of the flight, the aircraft cabins were completely at our disposal - it was possible to walk everywhere, sit, lie down, press buttons, climb into all holes.

Standard sets for breakfast and lunch were demonstrated. Special thanks for the metal appliances in Lufthansa economy class, of course. It would be high time for Aeroflot to switch to them.

For the convenience of photographing, he asked the flight attendant to turn on full lighting in the cabins. Not much better, but still:

On the second floor- two business class lounges. They say that these seats do not really like the company's management and they will be changed. Here there are 98 of them - an incredible number for an ordinary passenger liner. The set of options is standard for a modern business class - almost horizontal unfolding, individual light, socket and USB port for each:

Business class monitors size 10.6″, distance between chairs from 145 to 152 cm, seat width 67 cm:

Between the business class and first class cabins there is a huge vestibule with a kitchen and seats for flight attendants:

The subject of special pride of any serious airline - first class cabin. In the A380 Lufthansa, it is designed for eight passengers. Here everything is done practically, but without frills, like separate cabins. Eight chairs transforming into beds, each seat has a 17″ monitor. Seat spacing 213 cm, seat width 80 cm:

Lufthansa calls these chairs the best in their class:

Each first class passenger has his own wardrobe for clothes and belongings:

First class passengers have two such toilet rooms. There is no soul here, the Germans consider it superfluous, according to their experience, few people use a shower cabin during a flight.

A flight from Frankfurt to Tokyo and back will cost a first-class passenger 10,000 euros:

So we fly to Prague. They are already ready for the solemn meeting of the A380 megaliner:

Lufthansa chief pilot Werner Knorr:

The cockpit equipment resembles that installed in the A330 or A321 - in front of the pilots there is only a keyboard and a joystick on the side:

There are hundreds of people below, along the entire landing route - people are standing on the field, on the hillocks, on the roofs of houses:

I asked one of the Czech photographers at the airport to send me a couple of shots of our flight. Thank you Vojtech.

The cost of one A380 is $345 million.

To the right of the entrance to the cockpit is the crew cabin:

On the second floor you can climb two stairs - in front and behind the economy class:

A380 at Budapest Airport:

It is one thing when an ordinary plane rises into the air, even if it is designed for a couple of hundred passengers, and it is quite another when a product of the human mind tens of meters long is in the sky, capable of transporting hundreds of tons of cargo for thousands of kilometers.

At different times, the honorary title of the largest aircraft in the world was carried by different winged machines. For example, among them in the 1930s was the unique 8-engine propaganda aircraft ANT-20 "Maxim Gorky". Today, there are other leaders in this field, although the records they set many decades ago still hold. "Around the World" invites you to meet some of these champions.

The best: AN-225 "Mriya"

This is an aircraft with the largest payload capacity in the world (it can carry cargo with a total weight of 250 tons) and with the largest take-off weight (more than 640 tons), as well as the largest in length and span of the wing that entered service. First, let's deal with the dimensions: the length of the "Mriya" (in Ukrainian "Dream") is 84 meters, and its wingspan is 88.4 meters. For example, we point out here that a football field that meets FIFA recommendations has dimensions of 105 × 68 meters, and Red Square in Moscow - 330 × 75 meters.

The cargo compartment at Mriya is a sealed space 43 meters long, 6.4 meters wide and 4.4 meters high (that is, about the size of a two-story house), it can fit, for example, 50 cars. The aircraft was invented and built in 1984-1988 at the Kiev Mechanical Plant to transport parts of the Buran spacecraft and launch vehicle from the production site to the launch site, as well as, if necessary, the entire Buran - it was supposed to be placed on the "back" at " Mriya."

An-225 at the Swedish airport Stockholm-Arlanda

However, this giant did not perform its main duties for long: by 1990, all work under the Energia-Buran program was curtailed, and the AN-225 from 1994 to 2001 stood half-disassembled. By 2001, it was restored and has since been regularly used to transport heavy loads, including for record-breaking transport operations.

Mriya has already flown with the longest (42.1 meter wind turbine blades) and heaviest monocargo (generator weighing 174 tons), as well as with cargoes of the largest total mass - 253.8 tons. In total, Mriya has more than 200 world records of this kind. The plane exists in a single copy, it is operated by a Ukrainian airline Antonov Airlines, however, it is possible that in a year or two by the forces of the Kyiv Antonov Design Bureau and a Chinese company AICC a second one will be built.

Giant flying boat: Hughes H-4 Hercules

In the previous part, we mentioned that the AN-225 "Mriya" is the aircraft with the largest wingspan among all entered into service. This reservation is not accidental: in the history of aviation there was an even larger aircraft, but it made only one test flight at an altitude of 21 meters and a length of about 1.5 km. It's about Hughes H-4 Hercules, a giant flying boat built by 1947 by the brilliant (and insane) American aviator and businessman Howard Hughes.

Created by Hughes, an 8-engine monster 66.6 meters long with a wingspan of 97.5 meters was conceived as a means of transferring cargo, military equipment (with a total weight of about 70 tons) and up to 750 soldiers across the Atlantic from the USA to Europe. The project started in 1942 with the money of the American government, but its implementation was delayed for a long five years. So the Second World War ended, but the megaboat still did not take off.

In the end, this alerted the US government and Congress, under pressure from which Howard Hughes nevertheless made a test flight on November 2, 1947 in the California city of San Pedro. Flight first and last. Until Hughes' death in 1976, the Hercules was maintained in flying condition, and then passed from hand to hand, until it finally ended up in the aviation museum in McMinnville, Oregon, where it is to this day - you will be in Oregon , be sure to check it out.

Hughes H-4 Hercules during testing

The most remarkable thing about this plane is not even the largest wingspan among planes ever flown, but the fact that the car was built from birch, or rather, from birch plywood: the shortage of aluminum during the war years affected. Despite this, the plane was nicknamed "spruce goose" (Spruce Goose)- it has become synonymous with the expression "white elephant". We also add that Hughes H-4 Hercules- also the largest hydroplane in the history of aviation.

The largest passenger: Airbus A380

In this category, the first place is Airbus A380 in modification 800. This is generally the largest serial airliner in the world: height - 24.1 meters, length - 72.8 meters, wingspan - 79.8 meters, on its two decks it can carry up to 853 people in total (in a single-class configuration ) at a distance of 15,700 km.

It is on this aircraft that the second and third longest commercial flights are operated today - from Auckland, New Zealand to Dubai (about 17 hours) and from Dallas, Texas, to Sydney, Australia (about 16 hours). During this time, aircraft cover about a third of the length of the equator (the first place in terms of the length of a commercial flight since February 2017 is for a flight Qatar Airways from Auckland to Doha Boeing 777-200LR).

A380 being towed to the runway

In the plans Airbus creation of enlarged versions of this airliner - even more spacious A380-900 for 900 passengers (all in economy class), as well as a cargo version A380F, which will be the second after the "Mriya" in terms of carrying capacity. And both of them, presumably, will be even larger in length and in wingspan. So far, however, not a single such aircraft has been built: they do not have the required number of orders.

Longest passenger: Boeing 747-8

Interestingly, the gigantic size and record capacity Airbus A380- not the longest passenger aircraft in the world. This title is held by the former number one among airliners. Boeing 747 in version 8. Boeing 747-8- This is the third generation of the double-deck 747, which made its first flight back in 1969 and was put into commercial operation about a year later.

The record of this aircraft in terms of weight and capacity among passenger liners lasted 36 years - just before the advent of Airbus A380. At the same time, some of his records have not been broken so far. Yes, exactly Boeing 747-400 in 1989, he made the longest non-stop flight for a commercial airliner, covering a distance of more than 18,000 km from London to Sydney in 20 hours and 9 minutes. There was no cargo or passengers on board.

Boeing 747-8I German airline Lufthansa

Boeing 747-8 produced in two versions - passenger (747-8I) and cargo (747-8F). And in the near future, one more highly specialized one will probably appear: the US Air Force is looking at the 747-8 as the future "number one aircraft" - for the US President. Now this role is played by the heavily redesigned 747-200 in comparison with the production version, which was put into operation in the late 1980s. It is noteworthy that a Russian trace appears here: they are going to convert Boeing 747-8I, ordered by the bankrupt Russian company Transaero and now stored in the Mojave Desert in the United States (due to climatic conditions, the aircraft stored there at a special training ground are practically not subject to corrosion).

Most voluminous: Boeing 747 Dreamlifter

Surprisingly, the giant "Mriya" was not omnipotent. When companies Boeing it was necessary to establish supply chains of parts for the latest Boeing 787 Dreamliner, its capabilities were not enough to transport parts of the wings and fuselage of the Dreamliner from Japan and Europe to a plant in Washington state. Moreover, none of the aircraft that existed at that time (the Soviet AN-124 and its own Boeing 747-400F) suited the company, and it would have been too long to transport components by sea. Then the engineers Boeing developed (note, not without the participation of the Moscow bureau of the company) a modified version Boeing 747 by calling her Dreamlifter.

Boeing Dreamlifter at Chubu International Airport (Japan)

The difference of this, frankly, rather ugly aircraft (to the president of the commercial division Boeing Scott Carson even had to jokingly apologize to the creator of the 747 Joe Sutter "for what [they] did to his aircraft") is visible to the naked eye: the 747 is noticeably swollen - the diameter of the aircraft body is significantly increased, and it opens for loading side tail.

As a result, the engineers managed to achieve a record volume inside of 1840 cubic meters. notice, that Dreamlifter not unique. Earlier, with the same goals, the American Aero Spacelines Super Guppy(on it transported and transport parts of spacecraft) and the European Airbus Beluga, which delivers aircraft parts to the factory in Toulouse. Both of them, however, have a smaller usable volume.

Potential champion: Scaled Composites Model 351

May 31, 2017 in the Mojave Desert from the hangar with the confluence of the public and journalists Scaled Composites Model 351- twin-body, 6-engine aircraft, an element of the air launch aerospace system Stratolaunch, designed to lift rockets to a height of 11 kilometers Pegasus XL, from where they can launch into space, spending significantly less fuel and, therefore, having more payload on board.

Such a launch scheme is not new - for the first time, launching aircraft from other aircraft was invented back in the first half of the last century: in the 1930s, two airships were built in the United States, from which it was supposed to send small aircraft into flight. And after World War II, first in the 1970s in the USA (project Convoy Virtus), and then in the 1990s in our country (the Lightning-1000 project, aka Hercules), projects were developed to launch spacecraft from superplanes. So far, however, none of them, including the described Startlaunch, did not take off.

But soared much smaller White Knight Two, similar in design to a twin-body carrier aircraft built by the same Scaled Composites for air launch of a tourist spaceplane SpaceShipTwo billionaire Richard Branson. In 2010 SpaceShipTwo made the first flight, separated in the air from the carrier white knight.

SpaceShipTwo(center) and carrier aircraft White Knight Two, analogue Scaled Composites Model 351

If the flight Scaled Composites Model 351 ever take place, this aircraft will break the record Hughes H-4 Hercules in terms of wingspan among aircraft ever flown: with a length of 71 meters, the length of the wing Startlaunch(and technically it has one solid wing connecting both fuselages) is 117 meters.

Photo: Larske / commons.wikimedia.org, commons.wikimedia.org, Monty Rakusen / Getty Images, Kiefer / commons.wikimedia.org, Muroi 8210 / commons.wikimedia.org, Virgin Galactic / Mark Greenberg / commons.wikimedia.org

Today, the plane is considered one of the most common modes of transport. Contrary to the opinion that it is dangerous to fly on it, statistics in relation to road, rail and even sea transport indicate the opposite.

More than a thousand types of various aircraft have been developed in the world. The best of them are considered not only the fastest and most technically equipped, but also the largest and most spacious aircraft: cargo, military and passenger.

The top 15 includes those aircraft that are currently flying our skies, and those that were once created by ambitious engineers, but have not found their application.

One of the oldest, but nevertheless large aircraft, opens the list. In 1929, a passenger plane, a boat, was put into operation in Germany. His first test was a record flight with 170 passengers on board. But due to low flight characteristics, in 1936. flights have stopped. The length of the liner was 40m., wingspan width 48m., weight - 29t.

In 1952, English engineers created a seaplane - a flying boat. Two passenger decks accommodated 105 people. The aircraft had 10 Bristol Proteus engines. Of the three aircraft built, only one was operated, but he, in total, completed 45 flights, which amounted to about 100 hours. Subsequently, all three aircraft in 1967 were dismantled for scrap. LengthSR 45 was 42m., wingspan - 70m., aircraft weight - 87t.

Year of production 1949. The largest aircraft ever produced in England. It was originally designed as a new generation superheavy bomber. The experiment turned out to be quite costly and unsuccessful, so a copy in the amount of one piece remained without continuation. Aircraft length was 54m., wingspan 70m.

The list continues with the most original cargo plane in shape, reminiscent of a Belukha whale. The French aircraft did not commercially justify its existence, therefore, after five aircraft were produced, production was curtailed. Aircraft length 56m., wing span width - 45 m., carrying capacity of only 47 tons.

Soviet aircraft with impressive dimensions. Bears the title of the largest propeller-driven aircraft. 57 meters giant with 64m. wingspan since 1968 and is currently used in the Russian Air Force. He proved himself well in parachute landing equipment and weapons. The machine is made with four turboprop engines, the power of each engine is 15 thousand l / s. The fuselage is equipped with two fins, and the tail section is equipped with a large cargo hatch. The original development of the An-22 aircraft later served as a model for many modifications. For 47 years, 68 aircraft were produced, today only 6 are in operation, including 1 by Ukraine.

Another roomy and popular aircraft with airlines from different countries. Operation began in 1995. Boeing 777 can perform long intercontinental flights (17 tons kilometers), about 18 hours. The modification of this aircraft was the first where traditional paper drawings replaced three-dimensional computer graphics. The capacity of a civil airliner is 300 people, total length - 63m., wingspan - 65m.

Designed in 1947 in the USA in the amount of 1 piece. It has the longest wingspan - 98m. The flying wooden boat was produced to transport 750 paratroopers. At the end of 1947 he made the first and only flight, having risen only 21m. and flying 2 km. Hercules is currently kept as a museum piece. The length of the failed aircraft is 66.5m. An interesting fact - the plane is almost completely made of birch, for which it bears the nickname "wooden".

The second name is "Ruslan". It is in service with the Russian Federation. It is considered the largest serial cargo aircraft. Created by the joint efforts of engineers from Russia and Ukraine. The aircraft is unique in its endurance, lack of sensitivity to weather conditions, and also, due to its 24 wheelbase, the ability to accelerate and land on unpaved runways. The opening hatch is located both in the tail and in the bow. A feature of this development is the possibility of a simultaneous, more convenient and faster process of unloading and loading. In addition to the large payload capacity, 800 soldiers with full equipment can be accommodated on board the aircraft. The total length of the wingspan is 73.3 m. The weight of the aircraft is 180 tons. To date, 55 devices have been produced. The aircraft made the greatest popularity when in 1989, with the help of Ruslan, 140 tons of Pink Floyd's musical equipment were transported. Aircraft length 69m.

Another representative of the French developers. Four-engine passenger, in some modifications, cargo aircraft has a wingspan of 80 m. The total length of the aircraft is 73m., height 24m. The passenger version of the aircraft impresses with its capacity - more than 850 people can simultaneously fly without a transfer for a distance of up to 15t. kilometers. This giant with a weight of 280 tons is rightfully listed in the Guinness Book of Records for the number of people transported. One of the most expensive aircraft has an advantage in fuel consumption - 3 liters per passenger per 100km. flight. By the way, developers from the Moscow Engineering Center took part in the last, more improved modification, their task was to design on-board equipment and harden parts of the fuselage. An interesting fact is that in the production of such a giant, more than 530 km must be laid. electrical wires. Currently, 180 Airbus A380 aircraft have been produced, only 150 are in operation.

The largest twin-engine aircraft is designed for passenger flights over long distances (the flight range ranges from 10 to 17 km.). It differs from the previous version 777-200 in a longer fuselage. The impressive capacity of the airliner (from 350 to 550 people) makes it one of the most commercially successful. The number of aircraft produced is 1385 pieces - an absolute record. The length of the aircraft is 74m., wingspan 71m, weight - 160t.

Pure American. Used in many military conflicts: in Vietnam, Yugoslavia, Iraq and Afghanistan. The characteristics of a cargo military-strategic aircraft are impressive: total length - 75.5m., wingspan - 68m., height - 20m., load capacity more than 120t. Just like the An-124 has the ability to load through the nose of the aircraft. Over the entire period of production, more than 130 models were produced. There are currently 62 aircraft in operation.

The title of one of the largest passenger aircraft belongs to the French aircraft with total length over 76m and a wingspan of 63.5 m. Created on the basis of the A330. A distinctive feature is the presence of four engines. The purpose of this innovation was the need for long-range, intercontinental flights. The modified A340-200 has been shortened by 5m, but the non-stop flight range has been increased from 12t. kilometers up to 14t. The first record for the length of a flight with one landing belongs to the A340 (the duration of the flight from one place to another was 49 hours). In total, about 400 A340 aircraft were produced. The initial version of the device had a passenger capacity of 260 people, in subsequent, more advanced and elongated aircraft, it can accommodate up to 400 people (the latest Airbus A340-600 series has a length of 75m.). Since 2010, due to high fuel prices and competing aircraft, the production of the A340 has been suspended. Despite this, the aircraft is a great success with airlines.

The newest, more improved descendant of the Boeing 747, built in the USA. The longest passenger aircraft in the world surpassed the Airbus A340-600 by only 125cm, which is 76.25m. Also, unlike competing models, the developers of the latest version were able to reduce fuel consumption by 11%, which significantly reduces the cost of flight. The version of the Boeing 747-8 cargo aircraft is the most commercially successful, more than half of all world flights fall on this model. The passenger plane is capable of accommodating 470 people on board. Innovative developments in the latest units include private cabins with sliding curtains, entertainment equipment and even beds. Some orders for this assembly have VIPs, including the presidents of several states. The wingspan is 68.5m. The weight of a cargo plane is 190 tons, a passenger one - 213. In the list of the largest aircraft, it ranks first in sales. For more than five years, more than 40 aircraft have been put into operation.

The brainchild of Russian-Ukrainian engineers, the ultra-heavy-lift jet transport vehicle has the title of the largest and most capacious aircraft in the world. The prototype of the aircraft is the An-124, better known as "Ruslan". The wingspan is 88.4m. General aircraft length 84m. To date, only one copy is in constant operation. A versatile transport aircraft with the ability to attach external cargo, it was originally designed to transport parts of a spacecraft with special dimensions. The carrying capacity of this apparatus was to be about 250 tons. The length of the cargo compartment is 43m, width - 6.5m, height 4.5m. Also, the An-225 is highly convenient for loading and unloading unique and oversized cargo. The mass of the giant is 250 tons. Many world records for capacity and transportation of the most dimensional and heavy cargo belong to this aircraft.

KM "Caspian monster"

An experimental ekranoplan was developed in Russia in 1966. The unique, largest aircraft in the world, was named the "Caspian Monster" after it was noticed by American satellites. Before the appearance of the An-225 aircraft, it had the title of not only the largest aircraft, but also the heaviest. The aircraft was intended for use by the Navy. In constant attempts to modernize and improve it, secret tests were carried out for 15 years, but in 1980. due to pilot error, the plane crashed and sank. After that, no attempts were made to recreate an exact copy. The length of the giant was 92m., wingspan - 38m., empty weight - 240t., total load capacity - 304t.

In Soviet times, Soviet engineers designed and implemented many high-tech devices that could be proud of. But even today, not wanting to lag behind foreign countries, a project is being developed in Russia for the production of an amphibious aircraft BE - 2500. According to the idea, the length of such an apparatus should be 115m, the wingspan should be 125m, and the carrying capacity should be over 500t.

The trends of the latest developments are directed precisely in the direction where there is the prospect of the most capacious, economical and fast transport. For these purposes, a better invention than an airplane has not yet been invented. It remains only to hope that the main condition for the production of new giants will always remain safety.