The largest aircraft in the world. The biggest planes in the world

Since there is no limit to human imagination and ingenuity, more and more new and modern models aircraft. They are getting better, more economical, safer, and of course, more massive.

Airbus A380

This aircraft has two decks and is the largest for carrying passengers.

The height of the aircraft is 24 meters, the wingspan is 80 meters, and the length is 73 meters.

The aircraft carries up to 555 passengers, in a single-class modification - 853 passengers.

This aircraft is capable of overcoming 15,000 kilometers non-stop, being at the same time very economical. On creation of Airbus A380 was spent 10 years at a project cost of 12 billion euros. First commercial flight took place in October 2007. Then 455 passengers boarded to fly on the Singapore-Sydney route.

During construction, the main sections of the liner are transported by land and surface transport, although some parts are transported by An-124 aircraft.

This model was created as an alternative, previously considered the largest for 35 years. But Airbus moved the "colleague" from a place of honor due to its efficiency not only in fuel, but also in cost.

The developers also achieved a reduction in the weight of the aircraft. The highlight of the design is that 40% of the composition of the Airbus A380 body is graphite (wings and fuselage). The cost of the aircraft itself is about 390 million euros.

This airliner is the leader in terms of flight range. It is capable of flying over 21,000 km without refueling. Operation began in 1995. The aircraft can carry from 300 to 550 people in the cabin. The 777-300 ER is powered by two General Electric gas turbine engines, which are the most powerful engines in their class.

It has a maximum speed of 965 km / h with an impressive mass of 250 tons. One of the main distinguishing features is economy. On the basis of a passenger aircraft, a cargo modification was also created. The symbol "ER" stands for Extended Range (increased range).

A modification of the well-known 747 appeared in 2005. The hull has become longer, at the same time the aircraft is more economical. This model is the leader in the number of special orders for billionaires and top officials of the state. It is used by the heads of 19 states. Version 747-8 is the largest commercial aircraft in the world. The first owner of the commercial model 747-8 is the German company Lufthansa.

Officially, it is the longest aircraft in the world!

Hughes H-4 Hercules

This huge car is one of the record holders for the number of passengers (750), but now it is a museum. The plane was created under the guidance of the famous millionaire Howard Hughes, and was made of wood. The creator of "Hercules" himself supported until his death aircraft in working order. In 1993, the plane found its eternal parking in Oregon, and more than 300,000 tourists visit it annually.

"Hercules" was developed as a wooden flying boat weighing 136 tons. At the same time, the aircraft was until May 2017 the widest aircraft with a wingspan of 98 meters.

The most capacious of Russian liners, it can accommodate 435 passengers. IN this moment used only by the transport company "Russia" as a VIP transport and Cubana, including for the President of Cuba. It has a modification 96-300PU (control point) - like the aircraft of the President of the Russian Federation. Now on the basis of IL-96M, IL-96-400 was created, with the same capacity as its predecessor.

Unfortunately, the mass production of this model did not take place, despite the fact that it was designed by Western and domestic specialists.

This liner has proven itself over long distances since 2002. Its capacity is 380 passengers in three class classifications, 419 in two class classifications. Flight range - 14,800 km. Initially developed as an alternative to early Boeing models. Although the airliner is identical in terms of the number of passengers to the Boeing 747, the luggage compartment is twice as large as that of a competitor. Series production ended in 2011.

Cargo aircraft

- the most cargo-lifting aircraft in the world. The aircraft was created in the Design Bureau. Antonova. The basis for the creation of "Mriya" was.

The development of "Mriya" was in close relationship with the program "Buran". It was with the help of the An-225 that parts for the shuttle were transported, and subsequently the ship itself. Since the dimensions of the launch vehicle blocks and the Buran itself were larger than cargo compartment"Mriya", the An-225 provided for external mounts for such cargo.

There is one copy, but there is a joint Ukrainian-Chinese construction of another "Mriya".

The original mission of the aircraft was to transport ballistic missiles. But the result is impressive. An-124 began to be used to transport military equipment. Aircraft option for civil aviation can fly at any latitude and carry many types of cargo, including bulky cargo.

The cost of one copy is $ 300 million, which is more than for many passenger airliners.

The aircraft was developed in the USA for military transportation back in 1968. Capable of carrying up to 345 soldiers or several pieces of military equipment.

It was the most lifting until the appearance of the An-124 in 1982.

The reason for the creation of this aircraft was the location of Airbus factories in several places and the need to transport individual parts Airbus liners. A total of 5 copies were created and they all work for Airbus. Currently, a similar device is being developed on the basis of the A340, for transporting parts of the Airbus A380.

The name comes from the beluga whale, whose shape resembles an aircraft.

Such an aircraft is designed to transport parts Boeing aircraft 787. Prior to this, individual parts were transported by sea which was extremely inconvenient. Thus, the supply of wings from Japan for the 787 Dreamliner was reduced from 30 days to 8 hours. Only 4 copies have been released so far.

Military aircraft

The short history of military aviation contains many cases when gigantomania came into fashion. The result was the construction of huge aircraft. Some representatives of the largest military aircraft will be described below.

The German aircraft of the Second World War was at that time the heaviest land aircraft. Widely used in North Africa to supply troops. The carrying capacity is 23 tons. Unlike the predecessor Me.321, which flew only one way and was subsequently blown up by the crew, the Me.323 was equipped with engines and landing gear.

The aircraft became the basis for many engineering solutions still used in military aviation. It can and should be called the first military transport aircraft.

The aircraft was created in 1943 in Germany. The base for its creation was the Ju 290. It was created to perform many tasks, including as a strategic bomber that could even bomb US territory. The Germans planned to build 26 aircraft, in fact only two were built.

The aircraft had a unique flight range for its time - 9700 km, which allowed the Germans to seriously think about bombing in the United States.

The plane was created in the USA, like a flying boat. The Navy used it as an ocean patrol aircraft. In total, 5 devices of this type were created. In terms of wingspan, the JRM Mars is the largest mass-produced seaplane in history (the H-4 Hercules was produced in only one copy).

The last of the aircraft of this type is still in operation as a firefighting aircraft.

The aircraft was created by Boeing in 1941 to counter enemy Japan. Entered serial production in 1943. B-29 embodied all the latest engineering solutions of that time and was a model for the current military aircraft industry. He became widely known after the use of atomic weapons in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.

To establish a military balance, by order of I.V. Stalin, an analogue of the B-29 was created, an unlicensed copy of the Tu-4.

Initially, the B-52 was created as an intercontinental strategic bomber, but, being a means of delivering nuclear weapons, it was used in military conflicts only for training. Having an altitude ceiling of up to 15,000 m, he was able to deliver two thermonuclear bombs to any point in the USSR.

The B-52 was actively used in many military conflicts, primarily in Vietnam from 1965 to 1973.

The US military plans to use B-52 aircraft until the 2040s with appropriate upgrades.

The legendary Soviet strategic bomber, which is still in service with the Russian Air Force. This is the world's only turboprop missile carrier. 60 vehicles of this type remain in service, capable of carrying X-101 missiles, which, with a range of 5500 km, allow the Tu-95 to attack targets quite calmly, without revealing itself on enemy air defense systems. Despite the fact that many of today's strategic bombers are jet-powered, the Tu-95 is not obsolete; on the contrary, this is its advantage, since some satellites track the bombers by jet exhaust.

On the basis of the Tu-95, various kinds of test aircraft were created, such as the passenger Tu-114, reconnaissance Tu-126.

Video about the Tu-95 - one of the best bombers of our time.

A supersonic missile carrier with a variable sweep of the wing was developed at the Tupolev Design Bureau in the 70-80s. Many prefixes “most” can be attributed to the aircraft. Tu-160 is the largest military aircraft, which also has the largest maximum takeoff weight. The Russian Air Force includes 16 Tu-160 aircraft based in Engels, Saratov Region.

In 2017, a decision was made to completely modernize the Tu-160.

The history of aircraft construction, both military and civil, does not have much time, however, during this time a huge leap has been made in the technologies used. Increases capacity over time passenger liners, their flight range, more and more challenging tasks, from transport to combat. One way or another, the aircraft industry will remain one of the most high-tech industries.

Since man was able to invent an airplane and take to the air, this industry has developed incredibly rapidly. Now the largest passenger Boeing can accommodate almost a thousand people, which a few decades ago seemed simply impossible.

Dimensions and capacity of the largest passenger Boeing

The largest passenger Boeing is the Boeing 747. This aircraft has been holding its honorary title for several decades. The American aircraft began to operate in 1970, and since then it has been considered the largest and largest passenger aircraft.

The Boeing 747 lost its honorary title only in 2005, when the Airbus A380 aircraft was put into operation.

The capacity of the largest aircraft of the Boeing company is about seven hundred people, depending on the modification of the aircraft. Due to the huge popularity of this aircraft, Boeing hastened to release as many models as possible, distributing them around the world. In total, about 1500 of these giants were produced, each of which was in operation for several years.

Despite its huge size, the Boeing 747 is an example of the highest quality aircraft and complete thoughtful design. The length of the aircraft itself was originally 70.6 meters, and the wingspan was 59.6 meters. Now the length of the aircraft has increased up to 76 meters. Such a giant could reach speeds of up to 955 kilometers per hour, which in 1970 seemed unthinkable.

Since Boeing is constantly modifying its most famous model, maximum speed modern "Boeing 747" is 988 kilometers per hour.

Other major passenger aircraft peace

The Airbus A380 is currently considered the largest passenger aircraft. The aircraft received its honorary status only in 2005, displacing the previous leader, the Boeing 747.

The capacity of the Airobus A380 is 852 passengers, which seems simply unthinkable. The passengers themselves are located on two decks in the salons of the highest class. Great Britain, Italy and France took part in the production of this aircraft. Another large aircraft from Airbus- A340-600. This liner can accommodate a little less than 700 passengers, but it is able to fly more than 14 thousand kilometers without additional refueling.

Boeing is also proud of the 777-300 ER. This model can accommodate up to 550 passengers. At the same time, the aircraft is the absolute record holder in terms of the duration of the flight without additional refueling. The aircraft can fly 21,000 kilometers non-stop, which is unattainable for any other air transport model.

The impressive size of the large aircraft of the world speak only about the ambitiousness of modern aircraft designers. Most likely, humanity will not stop there, and many more huge Boeings will appear in the world, striking not only with the quality of their equipment, but also with incredible, hitherto incomprehensible dimensions.

People are always attracted to some kind of record - record planes always get a lot of attention

3rd place: Airbus A380

Airbus A380 is a wide-body double-deck jet passenger aircraft, created by Airbus S.A.S. (previously Airbus Industry) is the largest serial airliner in the world.

The height of the aircraft is 24.08 meters, the length is 72.75 (80.65) meters, the wingspan is 79.75 meters. A380 can make non-stop flights at a distance of up to 15,400 km. Capacity - 525 passengers in the cabin of three classes; 853 passengers in single class configuration. A cargo modification of the A380F is also provided with the ability to carry 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 amounted to about 12 billion euros. Airbus says it needs to sell 420 aircraft to recoup its costs, although some analysts estimate the figure should be much higher.
According to the developers, the most difficult part in the creation of the A380 was the problem of reducing its weight. It was possible to solve it through the widespread use of composite materials both in load-bearing structural elements and in auxiliary units, interiors, etc.

Advanced technologies and improved aluminum alloys were also used to reduce the weight of the aircraft. So, 11-ton center section for 40% of its mass consists of carbon fiber. The top and side panels of the fuselage are made from Glare hybrid material. On the lower fuselage panels, laser welding of stringers and skin was used, which significantly reduced the number of fasteners.
According to Airbus, per passenger, the Airbus A380 burns 17% less fuel than the "largest aircraft today" (apparently referring to the Boeing 747). The less fuel burned, the lower the emissions carbon dioxide. For an aircraft, CO2 emissions per passenger are only 75 grams per kilometer. This is almost half the carbon dioxide emission limit set by European Union for vehicles manufactured in 2008.

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

The upper and lower decks of the aircraft are connected by two stairs, in the bow and tail sections liners wide enough to accommodate two passengers shoulder to shoulder. In a 555-passenger configuration, the A380 has 33% more passenger seats than a Boeing 747-400 in a standard three-class configuration, but the cabin has 50% more space and volume, resulting in one passenger accounted for more space.

The maximum certified capacity of the aircraft is 853 passengers when configured with a single economy class. The announced configurations range from 450 seats (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 direction of Howard Hughes. This 136-ton aircraft, originally designated as the NK-1 and given the unofficial nickname Spruce Goose ("Goldfinch, Dude", literally "Spruce Goose"), was the largest flying boat ever built, and its wingspan still remains a record - 98 meters. It was designed to transport 750 soldiers fully equipped.

At the start of World War II, the U.S. government gave Hughes $13 million to build a prototype flying craft, but the aircraft was not ready by the end of hostilities, due to aluminum shortages and Hughes' stubbornness in trying to build the perfect 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 takeoff weight: 180 tons
Payload weight: up to 59,000 kg
Fuel capacity: 52,996 l
Engines: 8? air-cooled Pratt&Whitney R-4360-4A, 3000 hp each With. (2240 ​​kW) each
Propellers: 8? four-bladed Hamilton Standard, 5.23 m in diameter

Flight characteristics

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

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

The Hercules aircraft, piloted by Howard Hughes himself, made its first and only flight only on November 2, 1947, when it took off 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 kept the aircraft in working order until his death in 1976, spending up to 1 million US dollars a year on this), the aircraft was sent to the Long Beach Museum, California.

The aircraft is visited annually by about 300,000 tourists. The biography of the creator of the aircraft Howard Hughes and the testing of the aircraft 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 This is 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 time 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. So, for example, the fuselage of the Mriya has the same transverse dimensions as the An-124, but longer than it, the wingspan and area have increased. The same structure as that of Ruslan has a wing, but additional sections have been added to it. The An-225 has two additional engines. The landing gear of the aircraft is similar to the chassis of the Ruslan, but it has seven instead of five racks. 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 about 70% ready and can be completed at any time, subject to proper funding. For its completion, 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 Kiev, carrying a Buran weighing sixty tons on its back. In the same month, the An-225 delivered the Buran spacecraft to the Paris air show and made a splash there. In total, the aircraft has 240 world records, including the transport of the heaviest cargo (253 tons), the heaviest monolithic cargo (188 tons) and the longest cargo.

The An-225 Mriya aircraft was originally designed for the needs of the Soviet space industry. In those years Soviet Union built "Buran" - his first reusable ship, an analogue of the American shuttle. To implement this project, a transport system was needed, with which it was possible to transport goods large sizes. 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 also had colossal dimensions. All this was delivered from the place of production to the points of final assembly. The units and components of Energia and Buran were manufactured in the central regions of the USSR, and the final assembly took place in Kazakhstan, at the Baikonur cosmodrome. In addition, the An-225 was originally designed so that in the future it could carry the completed Buran spacecraft. Also, the An-225 could carry bulky cargo for the needs National economy, for example, equipment for mining, oil and gas industry.

In addition to participating in the Soviet space program, the aircraft was to be used to transport oversized cargo long distances. This work An-225 "Mriya" will perform today.

General Functions and the tasks of the machine can be described as follows:

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

Other, even more ambitious tasks were set before the unique aircraft, and they were also associated with 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", as conceived by the designers, was to become the first step 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 carrying capacity of at least 250 tons.

The Soviet shuttle was supposed to start from the "back" of the aircraft. This method of launching vehicles into near-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 spacecraft from an aircraft saves fuel significantly and allows increasing the payload of a spacecraft. In some cases, this may allow you to completely abandon the first stage of the rocket.

Various air launch options are being developed at the present time. The United States is especially active in this direction; 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. An-225 carried out fourteen flights with Buran on the top of the fuselage, hundreds of tons of various cargoes were transported under 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 commercial use. The An-225 "Mriya" aircraft has unique technical characteristics, a huge carrying capacity and can carry bulky 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 cargoes. Some transport operations can be safely called unique and unparalleled in the history of aviation. The plane 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 clean up the aftermath of an earthquake in Japan.

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

The An-225 "Mriya" aircraft is made according to the classical scheme, with high-raised wings of small sweep. The cabin is located in front of the aircraft, the cargo hatch is also located in the nose of the machine. The aircraft is made according to the two-keel scheme. Such a decision is associated with the need to transport goods on the fuselage of the aircraft. The glider of the An-225 aircraft has very high aerodynamic properties, the value of the aerodynamic quality of this machine is 19, which is an excellent indicator not only for transport, but also for passenger aircraft. This, in turn, greatly improved the performance of the aircraft 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 grown by 10% (by seven meters). At the same time, the wingspan 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;
increased fuselage length;
single-keel tail unit replaced with two-keel;
lack of a tail cargo hatch;
the number of main landing gear racks has been increased from five to seven;
system of fastening and pressurization of external loads;
two additional D-18T engines were installed.

Unlike Ruslan, Mriya has only one cargo hatch, which is located in the nose of the aircraft. Like its predecessor, "Mriya" can change the clearance and angle of the fuselage, which is extremely convenient for loading and unloading. The chassis has three supports: a front two-column and two main ones, each of which consists of seven pillars. At the same time, all racks are independent of each other and are produced separately.

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

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

The cargo compartment is made airtight and equipped with everything necessary equipment for loading work. Inside the fuselage, the An-225 can carry up to sixteen standard air containers (each weighing ten tons), fifty cars or any cargo weighing up to two hundred tons (turbines, trucks, especially large sizes, generators). On top of the fuselage, special fastenings are provided for the transportation of bulky cargo.D

Specifications An-225 "Mriya"

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

Empty 250000
Maximum takeoff 600000
Fuel mass 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 transport jet aircraft of extra-large payload developed by OKB im. O.K. Antonov, is the largest aircraft in the world.

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.

History of the giant

The aircraft was intended for the transport of military goods, as well as components 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 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.

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.

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 the cargo compartment of the AN-225 takes place according to the "hookepak" system, that is, they are attached from above. IN 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 Mriya landed at the airport for the first time Swiss city Basel.

These planes were also once champions.

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.

(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 it lands at foreign airports, it probably arouses no less interest than the 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. On upper deck can accommodate 88 passengers.

A hundred years ago, no one would have thought that huge colossus weighing tens of tons could rise into the air and carry gigantic loads. Now this is a reality, but still, when we see these giants, we are surprised every time how the design idea made their flight possible.

An-225 "Mriya"

In 1985, the Soviet Union was looking for solutions to create transport system for his reusable spacecraft Burana. There was an urgent need for an air vehicle capable of carrying multi-ton parts of the spacecraft to the place of its collection and launch. As a result, the project cargo aircraft, which received the name An-225.

The creation of this giant was made possible through hard work and cooperation. design bureaus the entire USSR. In Voronezh, Kyiv, Moscow, Tashkent and dozens of other cities, thousands of scientists and engineers were implementing the most daring project in the history of aeronautics. It took a huge country three years to turn the idea of ​​the An-225 into reality: the first flight of the An-225 Mriya, assembled at the Kiev Mechanical Plant, took place on December 21, 1988.

"Mriya" is translated from Ukrainian as "dream". And thanks to the efforts of thousands of people, this dream has become a reality.

The parameters of the An-225 are amazing: its wingspan is 88.4 meters, its length is 84 meters, and it can take on board a load of 250 tons!

An-225 "Mriya" was built in a single copy and is currently in working condition, regularly flying.

Stratolaunch Model 351

On May 31, 2017, the Stratolaunch Model 351 aircraft was presented to the general public with a record wingspan of 117.3 meters, which is only slightly inferior in maximum takeoff weight An-225: 590 tons against 640 tons. The machine has a twin-fuselage design and is equipped with six jet engines.

The creation of the giant aircraft Stratolaunch Model 351 is also associated with space launches. It is assumed that from this aircraft during the flight, rockets designed to be launched into low-Earth orbit will be launched.

So far, the Stratolaunch Model 351 has never flown and is being tested on the surface. Just the other day, to test the operation of the chassis and braking system, the aircraft made a test run on runway, during which it accelerated to 74 km / h. It is planned that the machine will make its first flight in 2019.