This is a list of large aircraft.

The US Federal Aviation Administration defines a large aircraft as any aircraft with a
certificated maximum takeoff weight of more than 12,500 lb (5,700 kg) [1]
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) defines a large aircraft as either "an aeroplane with a
maximum take-off mass of more than 5,700 kilograms (12,600 pounds) or a multi-engined
helicopter."[2]

Contents

 1Fixed-wing
o 1.1Civilian
o 1.2Military
o 1.3Experimentals and prototypes
o 1.4Projects and designs
 2Helicopters and rotary-wing aircraft
 3Airships
 4See also
 5References
o 5.1Citations
o 5.2Sources
 6External links

Fixed-wing[edit]
Civilian[edit]
In Service

Aircraft First flight Note

Generally acknowledged as the largest airplane in the world, the

single Antonov An-225 is the world's heaviest aircraft ever
Antonov An-225 21 December
(maximum takeoff weight greater than 640 tons) and the
Mriya 1988
largest heavier-than-air aircraft (in length) ever entering
operational service.

Airbus A300- 13 September An A300-600 wide-body airliner modified to carry aircraft parts
600ST "Beluga" 1994 and oversized cargo.

Airbus A330-743L An A330 wide-body airliner modified to carry aircraft parts and
19 July 2018
"Beluga XL" oversized cargo.
 In Service

Aircraft First flight Note

The largest passenger aircraft ever made. Capable of carrying

Airbus A380-800 [3] 27 April 2005
850 passengers.

The A340-600, at 75.30 m, was the longest commercial aircraft

Airbus A340-600 23 April 2001 from 2001 until 2010 when it was surpassed by the Boeing 747-
8.

Was the largest mass-produced aircraft in the world until

26 December
Antonov An-124 the Airbus A380 was produced. Remains the world's largest
1982
military aircraft currently in service.

27 February
Antonov An-22 World's largest turboprop-powered airplane
1965

8 February Lengthened version of 747 with increased wingspan. World's

Boeing 747-8 2010 (F longest passenger aircraft at 76.4 m (0.9 m / 3 ft longer than the
variant) Airbus A340-600).[4] Capacity of 650 passengers.

9 February Highest-capacity passenger aircraft until surpassed by Airbus

Boeing 747[5]
1969 A380

Boeing 747 9 September 747 with enlarged fuselage for transporting Boeing 787
"Dreamlifter" 2006 Dreamliner sub-assemblies (1,800 cubic metres (65,000 cu ft))

Physically the largest aircraft, and heaviest land-based aircraft of

Tupolev Maksim
19 May 1934 the 1930s era (63 meter/206.7 ft wingspan, 53 tonne MTOW),
Gorki
required eight 900 hp Mikulin V12 engines for flight.

Largest successful flying boat and heaviest aircraft in the world

Dornier Do X 12 July 1929 from 1929 until 1942 when the Boeing B-29 Superfortress first
flew.
 In Service

Aircraft First flight Note

31 August
Antonov An-2 Largest mass-produced single-engine biplane.
1947

Antonov An-225, largest [6] airplane to date

Military[edit]
First
Aircraft Note
flight

Very large flying boat. The largest aircraft in the world 1944 to
1945 when the single one was destroyed. The even
Blohm & Voss BV 11 March
heavier Convair B-36 first flew in 1946. Heaviest aircraft built
238 1944
during World War II, and largest aircraft produced by any of the
Axis powers in World War II

27 June This experimental aircraft was the largest US bomber until 1946
Douglas XB-19[7]
1941 when the Northrop YB-35 flew.

21 Largest aircraft in the world from 1942 to 1943 when the even
Boeing B-29
September heavier Junkers Ju-390 first flew. It was one of the largest
Superfortress[8]
1942 bombers used during World War II

Largest aircraft in the world 1946 to 1947 when the even

Convair B-36 8 August
heavier Hughes H-4 Hercules first flew. First intercontinental
Peacemaker[9] 1946
strategic bomber, longest wingspan for a combat aircraft

23
Developed from B-36, single prototype was the largest piston-
Convair XC-99 November
engined land-based transport aircraft ever built
1947
 First
Aircraft Note
flight

January Largest World War II aircraft produced by Japan in any quantity

Kawanishi H8K
1941 (167 built)

Linke-Hofmann Largest aircraft ever to fly with only one propeller, used largest
1919
R.II airplane propeller ever used.

Lockheed C-5 30 June Largest USAF strategic airlifter and among the largest military
Galaxy 1968 aircraft in the world

Martin JRM Mars 1941 Largest flying boat to enter production (7 built)

Messerschmitt
1941 Biggest land-based cargo airplane during World War II
Me 323 "Gigant"

Myasishchev VM-
1981 Derivative of the M-4 as outsized cargo aircraft
T

18
Heaviest combat aircraft, largest supersonic aircraft and largest
Tupolev Tu-160 December
swept-wing aircraft ever built.
1981

Zeppelin-Staaken Largest aircraft to see regular squadron service (in 1917)

Circa 1916
R.VI in World War I

Experimentals and prototypes[edit]

First
Aircraft Note
flight

4 A giant luxurious airliner in which each passenger was given the

Bristol
September space of the interior of a small car. There was no commercial
Brabazon[10]
1949 interest and only the prototype flew.
 First
Aircraft Note
flight

18 October
Dassault Balzac Experimental VTOL jet. MTOW 29,630 lb.
1962

Douglas X-3 15 October

Supersonic research aircraft. Gross weight 22,100 lb.[11]
Stiletto 1952

The ekranoplan had wingspan of 37.6 m, length - 92 m, maximum

takeoff weight - 544 tons. Until An-225 it was the largest aircraft in
16 October the world. Unit KM was tested at the Caspian Sea for 15 years
Ekranoplan KM
1966 until 1980. In 1980, pilot error caused a crash without human
casualties. The vehicle was too heavy to be recovered from its
watery wrecksite.

Heaviest aircraft in the world 1947 to 1952, when the even

heavier Boeing B-52 Stratofortress first flew. World's largest flying
Hughes H-4 2 November boat, and largest wingspan of any aircraft until April 2019, when
Hercules 1947 the Stratolaunch took its first flight. Only one was ever built and it
performed only one short test flight. Commonly known as the
"Spruce Goose".

Largest aircraft in the world 1943 to 1944, when the even-

20 October heavier Blohm & Voss BV 238 first flew. Selected and further
Junkers Ju 390
1943 developed as the Junkers firm's entry for the Amerika
Bomber design contract.

11 August
Kalinin K-7 Prototype seven-engined transport for civil or military use.
1933

21
North American Prototype Mach 3 strategic bomber. Maximum takeoff weight
September
XB-70 Valkyrie 542,000 lb (246 tonnes).
1964

Stratolaunch is an aircraft currently in development in Mojave, CA,

13 April first shown on 1 June 2017. With a wingspan of 385 ft (117 m), it
Stratolaunch [12]
2019[13] is the world’s largest aircraft by wingspan and the largest all-
composite aircraft ever built. It is designed as an aerial
launch platform, capable of lifting orbital launch vehicles weighing
 First
Aircraft Note
flight

up to 550,000 lb (250 t) to an altitude of 45,000 ft (14,000 m) with

a maximum takeoff weight of 1,300,000 lb (590 t)[14].

Projects and designs[edit]

Design or
Aircraft Note
Conception

Aerocon
Proposed 5,000-ton ground effect aircraft to be developed in the
Dash 1.6 1990s proposal
USA with Russian consultation.
wingship

Announced in 2006 as a derivative of the Airbus A380-800.

Airbus World's highest-capacity passenger aircraft in history. In May
2006 development
A380-900 2010, Airbus announced that A380-900 development was
postponed, until production of the A380-800 has stabilised.[15]

Beriev Be- Would be the largest aircraft ever, if built; development started in
1980s proposal
2500 the 1980s

Beriev Be- An improvement over the Be-2500 design with twin fuselages.
1980s proposal
5000 MTOW of 5000 tonnes.

Boeing RC- Proposed before the 1973 oil crisis. A tanker for transporting oil
1970s proposal
1 from Alaksa.

Boeing New Planned as a replacement for the 747, to be powered by the

Large 1990s proposal same engines used on the 777. Project canceled in the 1990s
Airplane due to the airline industry's lack of interest for very large aircraft.

Boeing Ground effect and medium altitude transporter for military airlift
2002 proposal
Pelican and commercial cargo, using conventional airports.

1960s design. A Planned as an answer to the Anglo-French Concorde supersonic

Boeing
mockup was built transport (SST). At 306 feet (93 m) long it would have been one
 Design or
Aircraft Note
Conception

2707 SST but no prototype. of the longest airframes ever flown. Problems with the weight of
the swing-wing mechanism and air friction heating in Mach 3
flight provoked a drastic redesign, by which time airline interest
in SSTs was dropping because of environmental concerns.
There was also political opposition to funding private industry.
The U.S. Congress cut government funding in 1971 and airlines
began canceling orders.

McDonnell
Proposed passenger aircraft, Designed to compete with the 747,
Douglas 1990 proposal
project canceled in mid-1990s
MD-12

TsAGI HCA- Proposed 1,000-metric ton ground effect aircraft powered by

2010s proposal
LB cryogenic liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Proposal for a blended wing body passenger transport capable

Tupolev Tu- of carrying 1214 passenger over a distance of 12,000-13,000
1990s proposal
404 kilometers. Flying wing proposal would have had a wingspan of
360 feet (110 meters).[16]

KR-860 (Kryl'ya Rossii or "Wings of Russia") early named as

SKD-717 is super large transport aircraft with weights about 650
Sukhoi KR- tonnes (Antonov An-225 weight is 600 tonnes), payload about
1990s proposal
860 300 tonnes (An-225 payload is 250 tonnes) and 860 to 1000
passengers, a proposed Double decker wide-body superjumbo
jet by Russian aerospace company Sukhoi.

Proposed triplane with the center wing spanning 50 meters and

Poll Triplane Circa 1917 the lower and upper wings spanning 31 meters. Not complete by
the time of the Armistice.[17]

Conroy Proposed 140-metre wingspan aircraft capable of carrying

1974
Virtus Space Shuttle orbiter, or boosters, or Shuttle main tank

Proposed 50-ton 52-metre wingspan design by Barnes Wallis

"Victory
1940/41 able to carry a ten-ton earthquake bomb (of his own design) and
Bomber"
drop it from 14,000 m on strategic targets in Germany. Rejected
by RAF due to lack of usefulness for other types of missions and
 Design or
Aircraft Note
Conception

unlikely to be completed before end of war.[18]

Skylon current Proposed 345-tonne reusable spaceplane

As word about Airbus's new A3XX got around, the Boeing

company proposed a direct competitor, which was a proposed
Boeing 1996 proposal,
stretch to the 747-400. The family would have consisted of the
747X never built
747-500x and the 747-600x. The project was cancelled due to a
projected drop in demand for large jets in the coming decades.

Helicopters and rotary-wing aircraft[edit]

Aeroflot Mil V-12 at Groningen Airport in May 1971.

First
Aircraft Note
flight[Note 1]

14 December Heaviest (56 tonnes), largest and most powerful

Mil Mi-26
1977 helicopter in production ever.

Prototype heavy-lift helicopter with the largest rotor

Hughes XH-17 1952
(129 ft) flown

One of the largest (27 tonnes) VTOL aircraft and the first
V-22 Osprey 19 March 1989
operational tiltrotor

Mil Mi-10 15 June 1960

Heavy-lift "skycrane" developed from Mi-6, 114 ft rotor,
 First
Aircraft Note
flight[Note 1]

43 tonne MTOW

Largest helicopter ever built; not put into production. 2 ×

Mil V-12 or Mi-12 10 July 1968
114 ft rotors, 105 tonnes MTOW.

Sikorsky Sea King 11 March 1959 Many variants. Typ. MTOW 20,500 lb.

Sikorsky CH-53E At 33 tonnes, largest helicopter in service with the US

1981
Super Stallion armed forces

Largest compound gyroplane, 40 passenger capacity

Fairey Rotodyne 1957
short haul airliner experiment

1. ^ For designs that never flew the year of design or conception is used instead.

Airships[edit]

Hindenburg airship compared with the largest fixed-wing aircraft.

Aircraft First flight Note

16 December
HM Airship R100 220 m, 146,000 m3
1929

14 October
HM Airship R101 236 m, 156,000 m3
1929

R102 Planned
Also known as 'Project H', planned 240,000 m3 airship.
 Aircraft First flight Note

Cancelled along with possible 270,000 m3 R103

239 m, 180,000 m3 US Navy airship and largest

USS Akron 8 August 1931
helium-filled airship.

USS Macon 23 June 1933 Sister ship to Akron

245 m, 200,000 m3 Largest volume aircraft ever flown,

LZ 129 Hindenburg 4 April 1936
but only 215 tonnes.

14 September
LZ130 Graf Zeppelin II Sister ship to LZ 129 Hindenburg
1938

Largest-ever United States Navy non-rigid airship,

U.S. Navy ZPG-3W July 1958 1,011,000 cubic feet (23,648 cubic meters) envelope
volume.

Hybrid Air Vehicles HAV 17 August Largest-ever non-rigid airship/aircraft to fly, 92m
304 Airlander 10 2016 38,000 m3 (1,300,000 cu ft) envelope volume.

Varialift designs Designed Up to 3000 tonne payload.