List of large aircraft. This is a list of large aircraft, including three types: fixed wing, rotary wing, and airships.

The US Federal Aviation Administration defines a large aircraft as any aircraft with a certificated maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of more than  

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) defines a large aircraft as either "an aeroplane with a maximum take-off mass of more than  or a multi-engined helicopter."



Fixed-wing 

|-
! Type !! First flight 
! Role !! Built !! Length !! Span !! MTOW !! Capacity
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| Ilya Muromets || 1913
| airliner/bomber || 85+ ||  ||  || 4.527 tons || Pax: 16
| First multi-engine aircraft in serial production, Russky Vityaz development
|-
| Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI || 1916
| Bomber || 56 ||  ||  || 11.613 tons ||
| Largest WWI aircraft in regular service 
|- style="font-style: italic; background-color: lightgrey"
| Tarrant Tabor || 1919
| Bomber || 1 ||  ||  || 19.97 tons || 
| Crashed on first flight
|-
| Dornier Do X || 
| Flying boat || 3 ||  ||  || 51.1787 tons || Pax: 100
| Then longest, widest and heaviest
|- style="font-style: italic; background-color: lightgrey"
| Kalinin K-7 || 
| Transport || 1 ||  ||  || 45.77 tons || Pax: 120
| Widest aircraft until the Tupolev ANT-20
|- style="background-color: lightgrey"
| Tupolev ANT-20 || 
| Transport || 2 ||  ||  || 52.16 tons || Pax: 72
| Widest and heaviest until the Douglas XB-19
|- style="background-color: lightgrey"
| Douglas XB-19 || 
| Bomber  || 1 ||  ||  || 72.34 tons ||
| Longest until the Laté. 631, widest until the B-36, heaviest until the Martin Mars
|-
| Messerschmitt Me 323  || 
| Transport || 198 ||  ||  || 42.32 tons || 11.81 tons
| Highest cargo capacity land-based World War II transport
|-
| Martin JRM Mars || 
| Flying boat || 7  ||  ||  || 73.62 tons || 14.76 tons
| Heaviest until the Junkers 390, Largest serial production flying boat
|-
| Latécoère 631 || 
| Flying boat || 11 ||  ||  || 70.27 tons || Pax: 46
| Longest until the Convair B-36
|- style="background-color: lightgrey"
| Junkers Ju 390 || 
| Bomber || 2 ||  ||  || 74.31 tons || 9.84 tons
| Heaviest until the BV 238, Junkers entry for the Amerika Bomber project
|- style="font-style: italic; background-color: lightgrey"
| Blohm & Voss BV 238 || 
| Flying boat || 1 ||  ||  || 98.42 tons ||
| Heaviest built during WWII, destroyed in 1945
|-
| Convair B-36|| 
| Bomber || 384 ||  ||   || 183.06 tons ||
| Heaviest until the B-52, longest and widest until the Hughes H-4
|- style="background-color: lightgrey"
| Hughes H-4 Hercules (Spruce Goose) || 
| Flying boat || 1 ||  ||  || 177.15 tons || 
| Longest until the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy and widest until the Stratolaunch
|- style="background-color: lightgrey"
| Convair XC-99 || 
| Transport  || 1 ||  ||  || 142.71 tons || 44.28 tons
| B-36 development, most capable transport aircraft until the An-22
|-
| Boeing B-52|| 
| Bomber || 744 ||  ||  || 216.525 tons ||
| Heaviest until the XB-70, still in service
|- style="background-color: lightgrey"
| XB-70|| 
| Bomber || 2  ||  ||  || 242.115 tons || 
| Heaviest until the An-22, Mach 3 prototype bomber
|-
| Antonov An-22  || 
| Transport || 68 ||  ||  || 246.05 tons || 80 t
| Heaviest until the C-5, Heaviest turboprop aircraft
|- style="font-style: italic; background-color: lightgrey"
| Caspian Sea Monster || 
| Ekranoplan || 1 ||   || 37.6 m || 535.41 tons||
| Heaviest and longest flying vehicle until the An-225, 1980 crash
|-
| Lockheed C-5 Galaxy || 
| Transport || 131 ||  ||  || 410.41 tons || 125.49 tons
| Largest payload capacity until the An-124 
|-
| Boeing 747 || 
| Airliner || 1557 ||  ||  || 406.86 tons || Pax: 550/660
| Highest passenger capacity airliner until the Airbus A380
|-
| Antonov An-124 || 
| Transport || 55 ||  ||  || 395.65 tons || 147.63 tons
| Most capable transport until the An-225
|- style="font-style: italic; background-color: lightgrey"
| Antonov An-225 Mriya || 
| Transport || 1 ||  ||  || 629.89 tons || 246.05 tons
| Heaviest aircraft and most capable transport, destroyed in 2022
|- 
| Airbus Beluga || 
| Outsize cargo || 5 ||  ||  || 152.55 t ||  
| Airbus A300 derivative, largest volume until the Dreamlifter
|- 
| Airbus A380|| 
| Airliner || 254 ||  ||  || 565.92 tons || Pax: 850
| Highest passenger capacity airliner
|- 
| Boeing Dreamlifter || 
| Outsize cargo || 4 ||  ||  || 358.25 tons || 
| Boeing 747-400 derivative, largest volume until the BelugaXL
|-
| Airbus BelugaXL|| 
| Outsize cargo || 6 ||  ||  || 223.41 tons||  
| Airbus A330 derivative, largest volume
|- style="background-color: lightgrey"
| Stratolaunch  || 
| Air launch || 1 ||  ||   || 580.68 t || 246.052 t
| Current heaviest and widest, prototype air-launch-to-orbit carrier
|}

Projects

|-
! Type
! Proposed
! data-sort-type=number | MTOW
! class="unsortable"| Notes
|-
| Poll Triplane
| 1917 (circa) ||
| 50 m wingspan
|-
| Victory Bomber
| 1940/1941 || 47.2 tons 
| 52 m wingspan, to carry a ten-ton earthquake bomb, rejected by the RAF
|-
| Boeing 2707 
| 1960s || 301.17 tons
| A 93 m long Concorde answer, canceled in 1971
|-
| Lockheed CL-1201
| 1960s || 6318.61 tons
| Nuclear-powered, 1,120 feet (340 m) wing span, airborne aircraft carrier
|-
| Boeing RC-1
| 1970s || 1584.57 tons
| "flying pipeline", proposed before the 1973 oil crisis
|-
| Conroy Virtus
| 1974 || 379.90 tons
| 140 m wingspan, to carry Space Shuttle parts
|-
| Beriev Be-2500
| 1980s || 2460.57 tons
| Super heavy amphibious transport aircraft 
|-
| Beriev Be-5000
| 1980s || 4921.03 tons
| Twin fuselage Be-2500
|-
| McDonnell Douglas MD-12
| 1990 || 423.21 tons
| Proposed double deck airliner, canceled in mid-1990s
|-
| Boeing New Large Airplane
| 1990s || 523.6 tons
| 747 replacement powered by 777 engines, canceled in the 1990s
|- 
| Aerocon Dash 1.6 wingship
| 1990s || 4921.03 tpms
| US ground effect aircraft, developed with Russian consultation
|-
| Tupolev Tu-404
| 1990s || 595.45 tons
| Blended wing body airliner for 1,214 passenger, 110 m wingspan
|-
| Sukhoi KR-860
| 1990s || 639.73 tons
| Transport for 300 t payload or 860-1,000 passengers Double deck airliner
|-
| Skylon
| 1993 || 339.55 tons
| Reusable spaceplane, cancelled in 2024
|-
| Boeing 747X
| 1996 || 465.53 tons
| 747-400 stretch, Airbus A3XX competitor
|-
| Boeing Pelican
| 2002 || 2657.36 tons
| Ground effect and medium altitude transport
|-
| Airbus A380-900
| 2006 || 580.68 tons
| Airbus A380-800 stretch, postponed in May 2010
|-
| TsAGI HCA-LB
| current || 984.21 tons
| Ground effect aircraft powered by LNG
|-
| WindRunner
| current ||
| Outsize cargo freight aircraft: 108 m long, 80 m wingspan.
|}

Rotary-wing 

|-
! Type
! First flight
! MTOW
!Number built
!class="unsortable"| Notes
|-
| Cierva W.11 Air Horse
| 
| 8 t
| 1
| three rotor helicopter
|- style="background-color: lightgrey"
| Hughes XH-17
| 
| 23 t
| 1
| Prototype heavy-lift helicopter, largest rotor at 39.6 m
|-
| Mil Mi-6
| 
| 44 t
| 926
| Heavy transport helicopter, 35 m rotor
|- style="background-color: lightgrey"
| Mil V-12 or Mi-12
| 
| 105 t
| 2
| Largest prototype helicopter, 2 × 35 m rotors
|-
| Mil Mi-26 
| 
| 56 t
| 316
| Heaviest serial production helicopter 
|- style="background-color: lightgrey"
| Fairey Rotodyne
| 
| 15 t
| 1
| Largest gyrodyne. Prototype for 40 passengers
|-
|Kamov Ka-22
|
|42.5 t
|4
|composite rotorcraft
|-
| Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey
| 
| 21.5 t
| 400
| First operational VTOL tiltrotor
|}

Proposals

 Yakovlev Yak-60 – Mil V-12 size helicopter design
 Yakovlev VVP-6 – Mil V-12 size helicopter design

Lighter than air

|+ Large balloons
! Type !! Date !! Volume !! Description
|-
| Preusen ("Prussia") 
| 1901 
| 8,400 m3
| German experimental prototype
 |-
| CL75 AirCrane
| 2001 
| 110,000 m3
| CargoLifter experimental prototype, approximately 120.6 tonnes with helium fill
|}

|+ Large airships
! Type
! First flight
! Volume
! Length
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| Zeppelin LZ 1
| 1900
| 11,300 m3
| 128 m
| German experimental prototype
|-
| R38 (US: ZR-2)
| 1921
| 
| 212 m
| UK military, built for US Navy
|-
| R100
| 1929
| 193,970 m3
| 216 m
| UK experimental passenger transport 
|-
| HM Airship R101
| 
| 156,000 m3
| 236 m
| Followed by the smaller 146,000 m3 R100 (220 m) on 16 Dec 1929
|-
| US Navy USS Akron
| 
| 180,000 m3
| 239 m
| Largest helium-filled airship along its USS Macon sister ship
|-
| LZ 129 Hindenburg
| 
| 200,000 m3
| 245 m
| Largest volume along with its LZ130 Graf Zeppelin II sister ship, approximately 237.2 tonnes with hydrogen fill
|}

Proposals

 Hydrogen carrier airship (2.45 km long) and balloon (727 m wide), 28000 tonne MTOW both.
 Geostationary Banana Over Texas, a 300 meters long helium-filled airship with an outer shell supposed to be made of paper and bamboo, shaped like a yellow banana.
 High Altitude Venus Operational Concept

See also 
 List of largest machines
 List of largest passenger vehicles
 Wide-body aircraft

References

Further reading

External links
Top 50 Largest Aircraft at Global Aircraft
Largest Plane in the World at Aerospaceweb

Large