Dimensions Guide

It was once a bit of a fantasy for people in ancient times to hear of huge chunks of metal to fly into the air. The idea was simply impossible for them at the time until now when technology has paved new possibilities. Today we do not only have airplanes, large chunks of steel, flying in the air, they also carry passengers and cargo. Here are the world's biggest airplanes starting from the very largest one.

An-225 Mriya – World's Biggest Airplane

You might have thought that the Airbus A380 is the world's biggest airplane. That plane may be huge but it definitely isn't the largest one out there. The largest airplane in the world is not a passenger plane but a cargo plane, the An-225 Mriya. Technically, it is a strategic airlift plane that was built by the Antonov Design Bureau. It was awarded by Guinness Book of Records as the world's biggest airplane in 2004.

The An-225 Mriya was built during the days of the Soviet era. By far, it is still the largest fixed wing airplane built by man. It's ancestor is the An-124 Ruslan which enjoyed successful commercial usage in Ukraine, Russia, Libya, and the UAE. This plane has a wingspan of 88.4 meters. Its dimensions are as follows: length 73 meters, height 24.1 meters. It was built in 1988 and was outfitted with six engines. Its maximum weight during take off was 600,000 kilograms. Unfortunately, there is only one An-225 in operation today.

Other Large Aircraft

Here are some of the biggest planes in the world. Some may even be considered as the world's biggest airplane in fields other than cargo.

Airbus A380: This may yet be the world's biggest airplane among passenger aircraft. The Airbus A380 has a wingspan of 79.8 meters. Its dimensions are as follows: length 72.75 meters, height 24.08 meters. It was built in 2005 and outfitted with four engines. Its maximum weight during take off is 560,000 kilograms.

H-4 Hercules: The Hughes H-4 was dubbed "Spruce Goose" though it wasn't entirely made of spruce at all. The Hughes H-4 is the biggest flying boat ever built. Sad to say it was only H-4 ever built in history way back in 1947. It has a wingspan of 97.5 meters. Its overall height is at 24.1 meters and length is 66.6 meters. It was outfitted with eight engines and was intended to carry 115,000 kilograms at take off. Its production ended when it was unable to fly properly.

Boeing 747: This is one of the biggest commercial airliners that were ever built. Its original version was built in 1966. However, records show that the ones we see in the air today were designed and built in 1985. It has four engines with a wingspan of 64.44 meters. Its length is at 70.65 meters and height at 19.41 meters. Its maximum takeoff weight is at 181,485 kilograms.