List of large aircraft
This is a list of large aircrafts, 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 of more than
The European Aviation Safety Agency defines a large aircraft as either "an aeroplane with a maximum take-off mass of more than or a multi-engined helicopter."
Fixed-wing
| Aircraft | First flight | Type | Built | Length | Span | MTOW | Capacity | Note |
| Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI | 1916 | Bomber | 56 | 22.1 m | 42.2 m | 11.8 t | Largest WWI aircraft in regular service | |
| Dornier Do X | Flying boat | 3 | 40 m | 47.8 m | 52 t | Pax: 100 | then longest, widest and heaviest | |
| Kalinin K-7 | Transport | 1 | 28 m | 53 m | 46.5 t | Pax: 120 | longest aircraft until the XB-19 | |
| Tupolev ANT-20 | Transport | 2 | 32.9 m | 63 m | 53 t | Pax: 72 | Widest and heaviest until the XB-19 | |
| Douglas XB-19 | Bomber | 1 | 40.3 m | 64.6 m | 73.5 t | Longest until the BV 238, widest until the B-36, heaviest until the Martin Mars | ||
| Messerschmitt Me 323 | Transport | 198 | 28.2 m | 55.2 m | 43 t | 12 t | most capable land-based World War II transport | |
| Martin JRM Mars | Flying boat | 7 | 35.7 m | 61 m | 74.8 t | 15 t | heaviest until the Ju 390, Largest serial production flying boat | |
| Junkers Ju 390 | Bomber | 2 | 34.2 m | 50.3 m | 75.5 t | 10 t | Heaviest until the BV 238, Junkers entry for the Amerika Bomber project | |
| Blohm & Voss BV 238 | Flying boat | 1 | 43.3 m | 60.2 m | 100 t | Heaviest built during WWII, longest until the B-36, destroyed in 1945 | ||
| Convair B-36 | Bomber | 384 | 49.4 m | 70.1 m | 186 t | Heaviest until the B-52, longest and widest until the H-4 | ||
| Hughes H-4 Hercules | Flying boat | 1 | 66.7 m | 97.8 m | 180 t | longest until the C-5 and widest until the Stratolaunch | ||
| Convair XC-99 | Transport | 1 | 55.6 m | 70.1 m | 145 t | 45 t | B-36 development, most capable transport aircraft until the An-22 | |
| Boeing B-52 | Bomber | 744 | 48.5 m | 56.4 m | 220 t | Heaviest until the XB-70, still in service | ||
| North American XB-70 | Bomber | 2 | 56.4 m | 32.0 m | 246 t | Heaviest until the An-22, Mach 3 prototype bomber | ||
| Antonov An-22 | Transport | 68 | 57.9 m | 64.4 m | 250 t | 80 t | Heaviest until the C-5, Heaviest turboprop aircraft | |
| Caspian Sea Monster | Ekranoplan | 1 | 92 m | 37.6 m | 544 t | longest flying vehicle and heaviest until the An-225, tested for 15 years until 1980 crash | ||
| Lockheed C-5 Galaxy | Transport | 131 | 75.3 m | 67.9 m | 417 t | 127.5 t | Heaviest and longest aircraft until the An-225, most capable transport until the An-124 | |
| Boeing 747 | Airliner | 1,557 | 70.7 m | 59.6 m | 378 t | Pax: 550/660 | Most capable airliner until the Airbus A380 | |
| Antonov An-124 | Transport | 55 | 69.1 m | 73.3 m | 402 t | 150 t | most capable transport until the An-225 | |
| Antonov An-225 Mriya | Transport | 1 | 84 m | 88.4 m | 640 t | 250 t | Heaviest aircraft and most capable transport | |
| Airbus Beluga | Outsize cargo | 5 | 56.2 m | 44.8 m | 155 t | 1,500 m³ | A300 derivative, largest volume until the Dreamlifter | |
| Airbus A340-600 | Airliner | 97 | 75.4 m | 63.5 m | 380 t | Pax: 440 | longest in serial production until the 2010 Boeing 747-8 | |
| Airbus A380 | Airliner | 242 | 72.7 m | 79.8 m | 575 t | Pax: 850 | Most capable airliner, heaviest and widest in serial production | |
| Boeing Dreamlifter | Outsize cargo | 4 | 71.7 m | 64.4 m | 364 t | 1,840 m³ | A 747-400 derivative, largest volume until the Beluga XL | |
| Boeing 747-8 | Airliner | 137 | 76.4 m | 68.4 m | 448 t | Pax: 660 | Longest in serial production until the Boeing 777-9 | |
| Airbus Beluga XL | Outsize cargo | 5 | 63.1 m | 60.3 m | 227 t | 2,209 m³ | A330 derivative, largest volume | |
| Stratolaunch | Air launch | 1 | 73 m | 117 m | 590 t | 250 t | Widest aircraft, prototype carrier | |
| Boeing 777X-9 | Airliner | 1 | 76.7 m | 71.8 m | 352 t | Pax: 550 | Boeing 777 development, longest in serial production, heaviest twinjet |
Projects
| Aircraft | Proposed | MTOW | Note |
| Poll Triplane | 1917 | 50 m wingspan | |
| Victory Bomber | 1940/1941 | 47.2 t | 52 m wingspan, to carry a ten-ton earthquake bomb, rejected by the RAF |
| Boeing 2707 | 1960s | 306 t | a 93 m long Concorde answer, canceled in 1971 |
| Lockheed CL-1201 | 1960s | 6,420 t | nuclear-powered, 1,120 feet wing span, airborne aircraft carrier |
| Boeing RC-1 | 1970s | 1,610 t | "flying pipeline", proposed before the 1973 oil crisis |
| Conroy Virtus | 1974 | 386 t | 140 m wingspan, to carry Space Shuttle parts |
| Beriev Be-2500 | 1980s | 2,500 t | super heavy amphibious transport aircraft |
| Beriev Be-5000 | 1980s | 5,000 t | twin fuselages Be-2500 |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-12 | 1990 | 430 t | Proposed double deck airliner, canceled in mid-1990s |
| Boeing New Large Airplane | 1990s | 532 t | 747 replacement powered by 777 engines, canceled in the 1990s |
| Aerocon Dash 1.6 wingship | 1990s | 5,000 t | US ground effect aircraft, developed with Russian consultation |
| Tupolev Tu-404 | 1990s | 605 t | blended wing body airliner for 1,214 passenger, 110 m wingspan |
| Sukhoi KR-860 | 1990s | 650 t | transport for 300 t payload or 860-1,000 passengers Double deck airliner |
| Boeing 747X | 1996 | 473 t | 747-400 stretch, Airbus A3XX competitor |
| Boeing Pelican | 2002 | 2,700 t | Ground effect and medium altitude transport |
| Airbus A380-900 | 2006 | 590 t | Airbus A380-800 stretch, postponed in May 2010 |
| TsAGI HCA-LB | 2010s | 1,000 t | ground effect aircraft powered by LNG |
| Skylon | current | 345 t | reusable spaceplane |
Rotary-wing
| Aircraft | First flight | MTOW | Note |
| Hughes XH-17 | 23 t | Prototype heavy-lift helicopter, largest rotor at 39.6 m | |
| Mil Mi-6 | 44 t | heavy transport helicopter, 35 m rotor | |
| Fairey Rotodyne | 15 t | Largest gyrodyne prototype for 40 passengers | |
| Boeing CH-47 | tandem rotor | ||
| Mil V-12 or Mi-12 | 105 t | Largest prototype helicopter, 2 × 35 m rotors | |
| Sikorsky CH-53E | 33 t | largest US helicopter | |
| Mil Mi-26 | 56 t | heaviest serial production helicopter | |
| V-22 Osprey | 27 t | first operational VTOL tiltrotor | |
| Sikorsky CH-53K | 38.4 t | CH-53E update |
Lighter than air
- The 240,000 m3 R102 was cancelled, like the 270,000 m3 R103
Proposals