Defying Gravity: 7 of the Biggest Things That Ever Flew
From modern planes to prehistoric animals, these are some of the biggest things that ever managed to get off the ground.
Spruce Goose
Officially designated the H-4 Hercules, the massive eight-engine flying boat known as the Spruce Goose (it was actually made of birch) was intended to serve as a troop transport. Initially proposed at the high point of the Battle of the Atlantic, when German submarines were sinking over 100 Allied ships every month, the Spruce Goose would make its first (and only) flight on November 2, 1947, more than two years after World War II ended. That flight was just over a mile (1.6 km) long, but it allowed Howard Hughes to claim the honor of having piloted the largest airplane (by wingspan) ever built. That record stood until 2019, when the Stratolaunch, a 385-foot- (117-meter-) wingspan, twin-boom launch vehicle successfully completed a test flight. It was the brainchild of Microsoft cofounder Paul Allenâanother billionaire with an interest in aviation.
Antonov An-225
The massive Antonov An-225 Mriya cargo plane was the heaviest aircraft ever built. Powered by six turbofan engines, the Ukrainian-built transport could carry loads weighing as much as 250 tons. It was initially designed to serve as a carrier for the Buran, the Soviet space shuttle, and its Energia launch vehicle. When the Soviet Union collapsed and the shuttle program was mothballed, the An-225 was repurposed as the worldâs largest air transport vehicle. Its maximum takeoff weight (including the aircraft, fuel, and cargo) was more than 600 tonsâthe equivalent of two Statues of Liberty and about 1,500 tourists in âI Love NYâ T-shirts. The An-225 was destroyed in February 2022 during Russiaâs full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Mi-26
The Russian Mi-26 is the worldâs biggest helicopter currently in production. With a lift capability comparable to the U.S. C-130 cargo plane, the twin-turbine eight-rotor helicopter can carry cargoes up to 20 tons. While the C-130 has a significantly longer operational range, it requires a 3,000-foot (900-meter) runway to get airborne at maximum weight. The Mi-26 can carry similar loads while taking off vertically.
Hindenburg
Herb Morrisonâs radio broadcast from Lakehurst, New Jersey, on May 6, 1937, famously captured the final moments of the Hindenburg. âOh, the humanity!â cried Morrison when the German airship burst into flames as it approached its landing site. The Hindenburg was the largest rigid airship ever built, and its spectacular demise (as well as advances in aircraft design) spelled the end of commercial airship use for generations. The development of the Airlander 10, a âhybrid air vehicle,â signaled a renewed interest in lighter-than-air craft in the 21st century, but it was a fraction of the size of the 800-foot- (245-meter-) long Hindenburg.
Pelagornis sandersi
In the Tertiary Period lived Pelagornis sandersi, the largest bird ever to take to the air. Although P. sandersi fossils were first discovered in 1983, three decades would pass before scientists could confirm that they represented a new species. With a wingspan that may have reached 24 feet (7 meters), Pelagornis surpassed the limits of how large scientists believed that a flying bird could be.
Quetzalcoatlus
Dinosaurs dominated the land during the Cretaceous Period, but the skies were ruled by a group of flying reptiles known as pterosaurs (both pterosaurs and dinosaurs belong to a subclass of reptiles called archosaurs). The largest known pterosaur, Quetzalcoatlus, takes its name from the Meso-American god QuetzalcĂłatl, and its dimensions do border on the mythological. Its 35-foot (11-meter) wingspan rivaled that of a Supermarine Spitfire, and it was roughly as tall as a modern giraffe.
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Thysania agrippina
The white witch moth (Thysania agrippina) is considered to have the largest wingspan of any living insect. The graceful moth is found throughout much of the Americas and can reach more than 11 inches (28 cm) across. Other bugs that were once thought to have the largest wingspan include a species of dobsonfly that was captured in Sichuan province, China, in 2014. It had a wingspan that stretched more than 8 inches (21 cm). The specimen was slightly larger than another previous record holder, a South American helicopter damselfly, but was a fraction of the size of the enormous dragonflies that ruled the skies of the Carboniferous Period some 300 million years ago.