What is the largest cargo plane. Passenger aircraft capacity. How many people lift the largest Boeing passenger plane?

Nowadays, there are about a thousand different aircraft models in the world. They differ not only in their optional purpose, but also in size. In addition to light single-engine aircraft that are designed for one pilot, there are also real world record-breaking giants. So check out the list below.


An 225 is the largest cargo aircraft in the world. It is capable of handling such a heavy load that no other aircraft in the world can handle it.

Parameters of the giant aircraft, whose name translates as “dream”:

  • length – 84;
  • height – 18;
  • wingspan - 88.5;
  • maximum take-off weight – 640 t;
  • flight range with a 200-ton load – 4,000 km;
  • cruising speed – 850 km/h;
  • empty vehicle weight – 250 tons.



This is a rarity, built by G. Hughes according to the principle “the queen gave birth to either a son or a daughter that night.” This is a large combat boat-plane. And also an airplane museum - today anyone can get acquainted with the aircraft, designed back in the forties.

The 136-ton giant was created to transport more than 700 soldiers - this is a very large military aircraft. The designers limited themselves to just one machine - at that time the production of such a giant was extremely expensive.

Device parameters:

  • length – 66.5;
  • height – 24;
  • wingspan - 97.5;
  • wing area – more than 1000 m2.



This is the largest airliner on the planet. It could be put in first place based on a set of characteristics. But, since we took length as a basis, the A380 occupies fourth place.

Aircraft parameters:

  • length – 73 m;
  • passenger capacity – 853;
  • wingspan – 80;
  • height – 24.

A characteristic feature of a large, but not very high-speed aircraft is the ability to make a non-stop flight of 15,000 km. The double-deck apparatus is also quite economical. Fuel consumption per hundred kilometers and one passenger is only 1 liter.

The designers spent more than 10 years and $12,000,000,000 developing the model. Before the appearance of the A380, the Boeing 747 was in the lead in terms of overall dimensions. And the French aircraft was developed precisely as an alternative to the leader. Looking ahead, let's say that Boeing is the leader in our rating according to the stated criterion. But it is significantly inferior to the A380 in terms of cost, efficiency and spaciousness. French liners turned out to be almost twice as spacious, 15% cheaper and less voracious.

4. An-124 “Ruslan”


An-124 "Ruslan"
An-124 "Ruslan"

This apparatus became the predecessor of the current leader. Operated mainly in Russia and Ukraine. At one time, the heavy Ruslan was the largest aircraft. The primary task of the machine was transportation launchers ICBM.

But this is not only almost the largest military aircraft in the world. There are also civilian versions, which are operated mainly by Russian industry. They are designed for transporting large-sized cargo on all geographical latitudes. One Ruslan costs $300,000,000.

An-124 parameters:

  • length – 69;
  • height – 21;
  • wingspan – 73;
  • load capacity – 120 t.



The Americans did not develop this machine for military needs yesterday either - the project was launched in 1968. Until 1982, Lockheed was the largest transport flying equipment in the world. In one approach, the aircraft is able to transport 6 Apaches (helicopters), 6 armored personnel carriers, a couple of tanks and 4 infantry fighting vehicles. Or a whole bunch of trucks.

The once largest transport aircraft has the following parameters:

  • length – 75.5;
  • height – 20;
  • wingspan – 68;
  • maximum speed – 920 km/h.



Model from the family of three sevens. The device has been in operation since 1995. It is the largest twin-engine passenger aircraft. It is equipped with the most powerful and largest gas turbine engines from GE.

Boeing parameters:

  • length - 74;
  • wingspan - 64.8;
  • height - 18.7.

Designed for 365 passengers. You can admire these airliners endlessly - photographs and videos demonstrate the impeccability of the lines.



As you can see, the French love big sizes and they know a lot about them. The largest aircraft in the world - the top 10 - cannot do without the third member of the family.

Aircraft parameters:

  • length – 75;
  • height – 17;
  • wingspan - 63.5;
  • passenger capacity (maximum) – 475;
  • maximum speed – 900 km/h.

Before the leader appeared, this device was the longest on the planet. Over the years of production, the company has produced more than 370 cars. The car was discontinued in 2011. During the operational years, 5 aircraft were lost, but not a single person was injured.



This is probably the most famous aircraft. Most of you have seen him in at least a few Hollywood films. Many have flown on this handsome giant. This is the longest passenger aircraft.

Boeing parameters:

  • length - 76;
  • wingspan - 68.5;
  • height – 19;
  • passenger capacity – 580;
  • top speed – 988 km/h.

Boeing-747-8 is a modification of the 747 model. The dimensions and spaciousness of the cabin have been increased. Here the designers used more advanced technologies. Improved aerodynamics. In addition to the passenger version, there is also a cargo version. He was also included in this rating.



This is a wide-body aircraft developed by one of the largest aircraft manufacturing companies in the world - the French company Airbus. The giant's first flight took place in 1992. The project was developed for 20 years. And it’s not for nothing that it took so long - the car turned out to be successful, from the point of view of the ratio of flight characteristics.

But not everything is so smooth. Getting to the top is good, but the model has rather sad loss statistics. Over the course of a couple of decades, 8 devices crashed. Some of the planes were destroyed by terrorists, which makes the statistics less troubling when viewed from an engineering perspective.

A330 parameters:

  • length – 63.7 m;
  • passenger capacity – 440;
  • wingspan - 60.3.

10.Boeing 777 200 ER



In all fairness, this aircraft model occupies tenth place in the rating. If we compare it with the base model of the Boeing 777, then in this modification of the design the useful take-off weight was increased.

Boeing 777-200ER parameters:

  • Wing span - 60.93 m;
  • Aircraft length – 63.73 m;
  • Aircraft height - 18.52 m;
  • Wing area - 427.80 sq. m;
  • Weight of the empty equipped aircraft - 135870 kg;
  • Weight, maximum take-off – 262470 kg;
  • Maximum speed - 965 km/h Cruising speed- 905 km/h;
  • Practical range - 8910 km;
  • Engine type - 2 Pratt Whitney PW4073A turbofan engines;
  • Thrust - 2 x 33600 kgf.
  • Practical ceiling - 13100 m,
  • Crew – 2 people,

Payload - 305-328 passengers in a three-class cabin, 375-400 passengers in a two-class cabin or 440 passengers in an economy class.

The plane itself is already a genius of engineering. Making hundreds of tons of iron rise above the ground is a non-trivial task. Even the smallest details matter, it takes the highest precision and the hard work of hundreds of people to create even the simplest aircraft by modern standards.

The greater the challenge for aircraft designers to experiment with materials, sizes, and technologies in order to create aircraft that are lighter, more economical, and larger than their predecessors. This article will focus on the largest passenger aircraft. Now in the world there are two main players producing huge passenger aircraft - Boeing and Airbus.


The competition between them led to the creation of colossal machines. Among them, the recognized leader is the Airbus A380. The span of its huge wings reaches almost 80 m, and its length is 73 m. Read about it, as well as other flying giants, below.

Airbus-A380

  • Wingspan - 79.75 m
  • Length - 72.75 m
  • Height - 24.08 m
  • Weight - 280 t
  • Takeoff weight, max. - 560 t
  • Number of engines - 4
  • Passenger capacity, max. - 853 people

Production of this aircraft began in 2005 and was put into operation in 2007. Since that time, it has officially taken first place among passenger aircraft not only in size, but also in capacity, as well as in many other parameters. For example, for aircraft of this category it is the most economical. Its fuel consumption is only 3 liters per passenger per 100 km.


Such a huge aircraft would not be able to take off if it were built from traditional materials - it would simply be too heavy, and the lifting force of the wings would not be enough to lift it off the ground. Therefore, the main challenge for engineers and designers was the task of reducing its mass as much as possible.


The solution to this problem was made possible through the use of the latest composite materials, some of which were specially developed for this aircraft. For example, the central and main part of the wing (which itself weighs 11 tons!) consists of 40 percent carbon fiber. For welding structural elements it was used laser technology, which significantly increased the reliability of connections and reduced the number of fasteners.


Among other things, the designers also took care of environmental friendliness. By reducing the amount of fuel consumed by 17% compared to the Boeing 747, they also achieved a reduction in CO2 emissions - they amount to 75 g per passenger per 1 km of travel.

Boeing 747

  • Wingspan - 68.5 m
  • Length - 76.3 m
  • Height - 19.4 m
  • Weight - 214.5 t
  • Takeoff weight, max. - 442.2 t
  • Number of engines - 4
  • Passenger capacity, max. - 581 people
  • Manufacturer - Boeing

The Boeing 747 held the lead among passenger aircraft for more than 36 years, from 1969 to 2005. In 1970, the release of this aircraft into mass production was a breakthrough, because the construction of such a new model entailed a whole series of changes in production process, technology, operational requirements and even pilot training methods.


It was not originally planned to be released a large number of 747s, but when this model proved its reliability, many world airlines began to order it, because the volume passenger transportation began to increase sharply, and it was profitable to maintain spacious aircraft. Currently, 1.5 thousand 747s fly in the world in such companies as British Airways, Korean Air, China Airlines. In Russia, the 747 is operated by the Rossiya company. She “inherited” five 747s from the collapsed Transaero company.


The 747 also holds significant records: in 1989, it was this aircraft, owned by the Australian Qantas Airways, that made a direct flight to Sydney from the British capital, covering 18,000 km in just over 20 hours. True, it was flying empty: without cargo or passengers. Another record is related to the number of passengers: in 1997, 1112 people flew on it to Israel during the military operation Solomon.


The 747 was also used to transport Space Shuttle spacecraft. For such transportation, space shuttles are installed on the aircraft “on the back”.

The most characteristic detail of the 747 is the “hump” on the fuselage. It was originally planned that the fuselage would be double-deck along the entire length, but this option had to be abandoned for technical reasons. Therefore, the second deck of this Boeing is short.


Such a superstructure was designed so that the bow of the ship could be modified into a cargo ramp, because it was assumed that the 747 would be operated primarily for the transport of goods.

There are 7 modifications of the Boeing-747, almost all of them have both passenger and cargo and cargo-passenger versions. It will not be a mistake to say that the 747 is one of the most common aircraft of this type in the world.

Airbus A340-600

  • Wingspan - 63.45 m
  • Length - 75.36 m
  • Height - 17.22 m
  • Weight - 177 t
  • Takeoff weight, max. - 380 t
  • Number of engines - 4
  • Passenger capacity, max. - 419 people
  • Manufacturer - Airbus S.A.S Concern

The Airbus S.A.S concern owns another giant aircraft. This is the Airbus A340-600, which, before the release of one of the Boeing 747 modifications, was the world's longest passenger aircraft.

Its commercial release began in 2002, but was stopped in 2011. Over 9 years, 97 aircraft of this modification were produced. 340-600 was created specifically for intercontinental flights. Its declared flight range is 14,600 km without refueling.

Boeing 777-300ER

  • Wingspan - 64.8 m
  • Length - 73.9 m
  • Height - 18.7 m
  • Weight - 166.9 t
  • Takeoff weight, max. - 351.5 t
  • Number of engines - 2
  • Passenger capacity, max. - 365 people
  • Manufacturer - Boeing

The letters ER in the name of the modification stand for Extended Range - increased range. It is capable of flying 14,690 km without refueling thanks to an increase in fuel reserve compared to the previous modification of the “three sevens”. This aircraft is the main competitor of the Airbus A340-600 and the best-selling 777 in the world. There are currently about 400 aircraft of this modification in operation around the world.


The aircraft of this model are powered by the world's most powerful turbofan jet engines, General Electric 90-115B, which provide a maximum thrust of 513 kN. The 300ER modification has reinforced structural elements compared to its predecessors: landing gear, tail, wings, as well as additional fuel tanks.

This list contains the world's 10 largest aircraft ever built. The rating includes both passenger aircraft and cargo and transport aircraft. There are more detailed materials about some of them, for example An Mriya, and we will talk about some of them for the first time. The list is presented in descending order.

Dornier Do X
The Dornier Do X was the largest, heaviest, and most powerful aircraft in the world when it was produced. German company Dornier in 1929. In essence, it is more of a passenger flying boat than a classic airplane.

Tupolev Ant-20
Tupolev Ant-20, or Maxim Gorky, was named after Maxim Gorky and dedicated to the 40th anniversary of his literary and social activities. The Ant-20 was the largest known aircraft to adopt the Junkers design philosophy, with corrugated sheet steel in many key airframe components.

Boeing 747 Dreamlifter
This larger version of the Boeing 747, called the Dreamlifter, is used exclusively to transport parts of the Boeing 787 aircraft to the company's assembly plants from suppliers in other parts of the world.

Boeing 747-8
The Boeing 747-8 is the largest version of the 747, as well as the largest commercial aircraft built in the United States and the longest passenger aircraft in the world. That's how many records this outstanding aircraft has.

Boeing 747
The original version of the Boeing 747 had two and a half times the passenger capacity of the Boeing 707, one of the commercial aviation giants of the 1960s.

Antonov AN-22
The Antonov 22 is a heavy military transport aircraft designed by the Antonov Design Bureau in Kharkov. The aircraft is powered by four turboprop air-breathing engines. The AN-22 became the first Soviet wide-body aircraft and remains the world's largest four-engine turboprop high-wing aircraft with a twin fin and tail cargo hatch to this day.

Antonov An-124
Antonov 124 is a strategic aircraft for air freight transport. One of the largest aircraft in the world was developed by the Antonov design bureau. The 124 is the second tallest cargo aircraft in the world after the Boeing 747-8F and the third heaviest cargo aircraft in the world.

Airbus A380
The double-deck Airbus A380 is a wide-body airliner with four engines. It is the largest passenger airliner in the world. Many airports have had to upgrade their runways to accommodate its size. The A380 made its maiden flight on 27 April 2005 and began commercial service in October 2007 with Singapore Airlines.

Airbus A340
Second on the list is the Airbus A340. It seats up to 375 passengers in standard versions and 440 in enlarged versions. Depending on the model, the A-340 can travel from 12,400 to 17,000 km on one fill.

The largest aircraft - An-225 Mriya
The An-225 Mriya is a strategic airlift cargo aircraft designed by Antonov Design Bureau in the 1980s. Mriya is translated from Ukrainian language like a Dream. The aircraft is powered by six turbofan engines and is the largest in the world, with a maximum take-off weight of 640 tons. Currently, only one version has been built, but a second Mriya is also being prepared for release.

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

An-225 "Mriya"

In 1985 Soviet Union was looking for solutions to create transport system for your reusable spaceship"Burana". There was an urgent need for an aerial vehicle capable of transporting multi-ton spacecraft parts to the place of its assembly and launch. As a result, a project for a cargo aircraft was proposed, called the An-225.

The creation of this giant became possible thanks to the hard work and cooperation of design bureaus throughout the USSR. In Voronezh, Kyiv, Moscow, Tashkent and dozens of other cities, thousands of scientists and engineers implemented 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 aircraft, 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 carry a cargo weighing 250 tons!

An-225 "Mriya" was built in a single copy and on this moment is in working order, regularly performing flights.

Stratolaunch Model 351

May 31, 2017 general public The Stratolaunch Model 351 aircraft was presented with a record wingspan of 117.3 meters, which is only slightly inferior in maximum take-off weight to the An-225: 590 tons versus 640 tons. The vehicle has a double-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 during the flight this aircraft will launch rockets intended for launch into low-Earth orbit.

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 landing gear and braking system, the plane made a test run on the runway, during which it accelerated to 74 km/h. It is planned that the machine will make its first flight in 2019.

Ever since people learned to design flying vehicles, they began to be used to transport heavy and bulky cargo. Over the history of aeronautics, many transport aircraft have been created that impress with their enormous size.

1. Antonov An-225 “Mriya”.

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

2. Boeing 747 Dreamlifter.


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. What makes the Dreamlifter special is its unusual appearance.

3. Aero Spacelines Super Guppy.


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

4. Antonov An-124 “Ruslan”.


The An-124 is a heavy military transport aircraft for long-distance transport, the largest of all serial commercial cargo aircraft in the world. It was designed primarily for air transport of intercontinental launchers ballistic missiles, as well as for transporting heavy military equipment. The carrying capacity of the An-124 is 120 tons. .

5. Lockheed C-5 Galaxy.


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

6. Airbus A300-600ST Beluga.


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

7. Antonov An-22 “Antey”.


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.

8. Boeing C-17 Globemaster III.


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

9. Airbus A400M Atlas.


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

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