Today, not a single person can imagine life without the existence of aircraft, and in fact, before people could only dream of flying in the sky. Thanks to the colossal work done by scientists and design engineers from different parts of the world, the world got acquainted with the first aircraft. And on October 25, 2007, it went into operation Airbus A380- the largest passenger aircraft in the world, the photos of which to some extent reflect actual dimensions giant.
We will not dwell on one model, but will introduce you to other airliners capable of carrying a considerable number of passengers on board.
Introduced in 2005, the Airbus A380-800 supplanted the 36-year-old aviation giant, the Boeing 747.
Technical specifications:
- Vessel length: 73 m
- Passenger capacity: 525 people
- Wingspan: 79.75 m
- Wing area: 845 sq. m
- Height: 24.09 m
- Weight: 280 tons
- Maximum speed: 1020 km/h
- Takeoff run: 2050 meters
The development of Airbus had to spend one decade and 12 billion euros. The maximum distance covered by an aircraft without in-flight refueling is 15,400 km. In terms of the amount of fuel used, the Airbus A380-800 is much more economical in comparison with other aircraft of this class.
It was possible to reduce fuel consumption thanks to the correctly designed shape of the wing and fuselage. To achieve such accuracy in Japan, specially developed milling machines used in aircraft manufacturing. It takes 3 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers for three passengers.
In spite of large capacity Airbus compared to the Boeing 747, its production is 15 percent cheaper. For the first time, the air giant began to be operated by Singapore's national airline, Singapore Airlines, serving the Singapore-Sydney route.
Boeing 747-8
In 2005, the Boeing 747-8, another modification of a passenger aircraft, appeared in the American corporation The Boeing Company. The main differences from previous liners are an elongated hull and economy. By changing the deviation of the wing in plan from perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the aircraft and reducing its thickness, the manufacturers managed to improve the quality of aerodynamics. Thanks to this shape of the wing, fuel consumption has decreased.
Boeing 747-8
This modification was preferred by the governments of 19 states, using the liner for flights by the country's top leaders.
At 76.25 meters long, the Boeing 747-8 is the largest commercial aircraft built in the United States of America. In addition, the Boeing 747-8 is the leader in orders for VIP versions, which are intended for politicians in government.
The largest passenger aircraft in history is the Hughes H-4 Hercules. The giant received this title in 1947. Against the background of the flying "machines" of that period, the Hughes H-4 Hercules stood out with a 98-meter distance between the edges of the wings, due to which this modification was considered the most wide-body.
A total of 2 aircraft were produced this type Today, only one remains. The Hughes H-4 Hercules aircraft with a capacity of 750 passengers was brought to the Long Beach Museum in 1993, where it is still located. Large quantity no person was transported on any aircraft in one flight.
The Boeing 777-300ER passenger aircraft, designed in 1990, can fly 20,000 km without in-flight refueling. A test flight took place in 1994.
The Boeing 777-300ER is the first passenger aircraft to be designed using virtual computer assembly rather than paper drawings. Thanks to new computer technologies, or rather the program for creating three-dimensional models CATIA, it was possible to avoid common mistakes connections not during production, but at the design stage.
The liner is equipped with the most powerful bypass turbojet engines with a high bypass ratio and is equipped with additional fuel storage tanks. The introduction of such a modification reduced fuel consumption by 1.4 percent. On board the liner, 305-550 passengers can fly at the same time.
Il-96M with a capacity of 435 passengers is recognized as the largest airliner produced in Russia. Its design was carried out by domestic and Western companies. The aircraft model was exhibited more than once at specialized air shows, but mass production has not yet begun. In 2009, the aircraft was destroyed due to wear and tear.
An aircraft with a length of 63.7 m and a capacity of 400 people holds the absolute world flight record on one serviceable engine. In 2003, in the month of March, after the failure of one of the engines, the airliner flew 2 hours 57 minutes with 255 passengers. Despite the appearance of improved quality modifications, the Boeing 777-200 EP is still in demand. There are more than 400 aircraft of this modification in the world.
The Airbus A340-600 aircraft is one of the long-haul liners. At one gas station, he is able to cover a distance of 14,800 kilometers. The Airbus A340-600 has been in operation on international and intercontinental lines since 2002. The capacity of the aircraft with a length of 75 meters and a wingspan of 63.5 meters is 380 people.
A total of 97 Airbus A340-600 models were assembled. In 2011, the production of the liner in series ceased.
The wingspan of the Russian aircraft "Ruslan" reaches 73 meters with a length of 69 meters. The main difference between the aircraft is a colossal cargo compartment with a volume of 1050 cubic meters. meters. The aircraft with a cruising speed of 850 km / h was used for cargo transportation (carrying capacity - 120 tons), if necessary, military personnel could be transported on it. The flight life of the An-124 model does not exceed 45 years.
The military model aircraft Lockheed C-5 "Galaxy" is also worthy of competing for the title of the largest passenger aircraft. The liner was used both to transport people and goods. On board the aircraft, 270 military personnel can simultaneously fly, in addition, if necessary, you can equip the car with additional passenger seats in the amount of 75 units. Due to its impressive size (the length of the vessel is 75.5 meters, the width is 68 meters), the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy was classified as a giant aircraft.
Without refueling, the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy covers a distance of 5,600 kilometers at a speed of 920 km/h. The maximum height to which the giant climbed is 10,100 meters.
From the moment the first passenger was taken on board to the appearance of spacious airliners, 60 years have passed. And today we can no longer be surprised either by huge aircraft with excellent flight characteristics, or transcontinental flights, or many hours of travel on airliners.
To the aircraft list maximum size includes both military cargo transporters and aircraft capable of carrying more than five hundred passengers. The leaders among them are Airbus A380 and Boeing 747.
What models are included in the list of the largest aircraft?
The list of the largest aircraft in the world includes such giants as the An-225 and Airbus A380, Boeing 747 and An-22, ANT-20 and Airbus A340-600. All of them at one time became leaders in length or passenger capacity.The listed aircraft were created in different countries world, some of them are transport and cargo, some are created only for the transport of passengers. The need for high-capacity aircraft is growing from year to year, which is associated with the desire of people to travel, to learn new countries, to discover new continents.
Hughes H-4 Hercules
To date, the aircraft with the largest wingspan is the Hughes H-4 Hercules. It was built in 1947 from wood. It was supposed to be able to carry at least seven hundred and fifty troops with full equipment. 
The height of this wooden giant is twenty-four meters, the length is sixty-six meters and forty-five centimeters, with a wingspan of ninety-eight meters. Today Hughes H-4 Hercules is located in Oregon and is a museum exhibit.
An-225
There is only one An-225 aircraft in the world. Its second name is "Mriya". In the eighties, it was created in Ukraine for air transportation and is a cargo aircraft. Its maximum takeoff weight is six hundred and forty tons. 
The dimensions of the Mriya are also striking. With a height of twenty-four meters ten centimeters and a length of seventy-three meters, its wingspan is almost eighty-eight and a half meters. It is known that the construction of the second such aircraft is underway.
Airbus A380
The leader among passenger aircraft in terms of capacity is an airliner called the Airbus A380. Its creator is Airbus S.A.S. Passengers in this aircraft are accommodated on two decks. 
Being the largest among the mass-produced airliners, this one is also the most economical in terms of fuel consumption. For a hundred kilometers, fuel consumption per passenger is only three liters.
An-124
The An-124 aircraft, also called Ruslan, is one of the largest cargo-lifting aircraft in the world. This giant is used as a military aircraft. The length of Ruslan is sixty-nine meters ten centimeters, the height is a little over twenty-one meters with a wingspan of seventy-three meters thirty centimeters.Lockheed C-5 Galaxy
Until 1982, the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy was considered the largest among the mass-produced transport and cargo aircraft. It is used today by the US Army and is capable of transporting at least two hundred and seventy soldiers. 
This aircraft gains altitude up to ten kilometers and can cover a distance of five thousand six hundred kilometers without refueling. The maximum speed that the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy can develop is nine hundred and twenty kilometers.
Boeing 777-300ER
The record holder for the ability to fly without refueling is the Boeing 777-300ER, which can fly over a distance of twenty-one thousand six hundred and one kilometers. This passenger airliner was developed in 1990, and four years later it made its first test flight, while operation began in 1995.Among the twin-engine jet passenger aircraft, the Boeing 777-300ER remains the largest. On board, he can take from three hundred five to five hundred and fifty people.
Airbus A340-600
The large four-engine passenger aircraft is called the Airbus A340-600. It was created for intercontinental flights and could fly without additional refueling for a distance of fourteen thousand six hundred kilometers. 
The height of the liner is seventeen meters thirty centimeters, the length is seventy-five meters thirty centimeters, and the wingspan is sixty-three and a half meters.
Boeing 747
The largest, most spacious and heaviest passenger airliner at the time of its creation, it was considered a Boeing 747. It held this record for thirty-seven years, until it was overtaken by the Airbus A380. 
The Boeing 747 is also the world's most common aircraft. It is known that more than one and a half thousand such airliners were produced.
The largest passenger aircraft in the world
As you know, the most comfortable and fastest way to travel is by plane. For this reason, many modifications of passenger aircraft have been created. The largest among them for a long time remained the passenger Boeing 747, released in 1969. Initially, its capacity was four hundred and fifty-two passengers, and after modification it increased to five hundred and sixty-eight. 
In 2005, a new super-capacious large aircraft appeared - this is the Airbus A380. Surprisingly, its capacity is equal to eight hundred and fifty-two passengers. They are located on two decks. This four-engine aircraft has a wingspan of nearly eighty meters, a height of twenty-four meters and a length of seventy-three meters. The weight of this “giant” is also surprising - without passengers it weighs almost two hundred and seventy-seven tons and is able to fly fifteen thousand two hundred kilometers without stopping for refueling.
And the largest cargo aircraft is called the An-225 Mriya. It was made in the USSR. .
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The aircraft itself is already an engineering genius. Making hundreds of tons of iron rise above the ground is not a trivial task. Even the smallest details matter, required highest precision and the hard work of hundreds of people to create even the simplest aircraft by modern standards.
All the more challenging for aircraft designers to experiment with materials, sizes, 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.
Competition between them led to the creation of colossal machines. Among them recognized leader is an Airbus-A380. The span of its huge wings almost reaches 80 m, and the length is 73 m. Read about him, as well as about 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
The production of this aircraft began in 2005, it was put into operation already in 2007. Since that time, it officially occupies the 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 kilometers.
Such a huge aircraft could not take off if it was built from traditional materials - it would simply be too heavy, and there would not be enough lift from the wings to lift it off the ground. Therefore, the main challenge for engineers and designers was the task of minimizing its weight.
The solution to this problem has become possible through the use of the latest composite materials, some of which were specially designed for this aircraft. For example, the central and main part of the wing (which itself weighs 11 tons!) is 40 percent carbon fiber. Laser technology was used to weld structural elements, which significantly increased the reliability of the joints and reduced the number of fasteners.
Among other things, the designers took care of environmental friendliness. By reducing the amount of fuel consumed by 17% compared to the Boeing 747, they have also achieved a reduction in CO2 emissions - they are 75 grams 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 over 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 manufacturing process, technology, operational requirements and even pilot training methods.
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 traffic began to increase sharply, and it was profitable to maintain capacious aircraft. Currently, 1.5 thousand 747s fly in the world in companies such as british airways, Korean Air, China Airlines. In Russia, the 747th 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, he flew empty: without cargo and passengers. Another record is related to the number of passengers: in 1997, 1112 people flew on it to Israel during the military operation Solomon.
747th was also used for transportation spaceships space shuttle. For such transportation, space shuttles are installed on the aircraft "on the back".
The most characteristic detail of the 747th 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 - Concern Airbus S.A.S
Airbus S.A.S owns another giant aircraft. This is the Airbus A340-600, which, before the release of one of the modifications of the Boeing 747, was the world's longest passenger aircraft.
Its commercial release began in 2002, in 2011 it was stopped. For 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 denote Extended Range - increased range. He is able to fly 14,690 km without refueling due to the increase in fuel compared to the previous modification of the "three sevens". It is this aircraft that is the main competitor of the Airbus A340-600 and the best-selling 777 in the world. Currently, about 400 aircraft of this modification are operated in the world.
The aircraft of this model are equipped with the most powerful General Electric 90-115B turbofan jet engines in the world, which provide a maximum thrust of 513 kN. Modification 300ER has reinforced structural elements compared to its predecessors: landing gear, plumage, wings, as well as additional fuel tanks.
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 much as possible more models spreading them all over 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 top quality aircraft and complete thoughtfulness of the 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, the maximum speed of the 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 is the 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 dimensions of the largest aircraft in the world speak only of 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 by 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. (formerly Airbus Industrie) is the largest production 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. The A380 can fly non-stop for distances 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 mass. It was resolved through wide application 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 CO2 emission limit set by the European Union for cars manufactured in 2008.
The first A320 aircraft sold was delivered 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 ladders, at the nose and tail of the liner, wide enough to accommodate two passengers shoulder to shoulder. In a 555-passenger configuration, the A380 has 33% more passenger space than a Boeing 747-400 in a standard three-class configuration, but the cabin has 50% more more space and volume, resulting in more space per passenger.
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 cooling Pratt&Whitney R-4360-4A 3000 HP 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 pattern.
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 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 Kyiv, 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, the Soviet Union was building the Buran, its 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. Units and components of "Energia" and "Buran" were manufactured in central regions USSR, and 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 over 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 ship 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 options air launch 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 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 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 all inner space fuselage occupies the cargo hold. 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 could be created in such short term. Here are the main differences between the An-225 and the An-124 Ruslan:
New center section;
increased fuselage length;
single-keel tail unit was replaced with a two-keel one;
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 units located inside the fuselage.
The cargo compartment is made airtight and equipped with everything necessary equipment for loading operations. 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 are provided special mounts for transportation of oversized 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.
