The longest aircraft in the world takes pride of place in the list of the largest aircraft on the planet. This type of vehicle has been developing relatively recently, but all this time has attracted increased attention. We will talk about the most entertaining records in this article.
The longest plane
According to official data, the longest aircraft in the world is the American aircraft Boeing 747-8. This is a passenger liner, the appearance of which was announced back in 2005. It is he who is considered the largest commercial aircraft ever built in America. The Boeing officially has the status of the longest aircraft in the world, almost a meter more than the length of the Airbus A 340-600.
This Boeing set off on its first flight in early 2010. This is the first extended aircraft of the 747 family, which was launched for production in a mass series. Initially, manufacturers noted that the new aircraft will become as economical and quiet as possible, moreover, environmentally friendly compared to other versions of the 747.
It was planned that the longest aircraft in the world would be able to spend 11 percent less fuel per passenger, which should lead to a final reduction in the cost of the flight by more than 20%.
First flight
The longest aircraft in the world, the photo of which is given in this article, first flew on February 8, 2010. True, before that he had to spend two and a half hours, waiting for favorable weather conditions. It was the first test flight of the longest passenger aircraft in the world.
The result of the test was that specialists were able to notice the stall due to the turbulent trail of the open landing gear flaps on the inner sections of the flaps. The problem in the Boeing was solved by changing the design of the flaps of the external struts of the main chassis.
This Boeing made its first flight with passengers on March 20, 2011. The longest plane in the world in meters turned out to be equal to 76.4 m, as those who decided to go on a trip could see for themselves.
The biggest plane
Moreover, if we talk about aircraft that are not launched into mass production, that is, copies that are significantly superior in size and parameters to the Boeing, which we talked about. Firstly, this is the An-225. This is the longest aircraft in Russia, which also has the largest take-off mass (it exceeds 640 tons), it is the largest aircraft, which turned out to be heavier than air in terms of wingspan, in operation. It was released in a single copy.
This is a Soviet transport jet aircraft, which was designed at the Kiev Mechanical Plant in the mid-80s. On December 21, 1988, his first flight took place. Initially, they wanted to release two such aircraft, but now only one instance is in working condition.
Specifications
The crew of this aircraft consists of six people. The wingspan is almost 89 meters and the length is 84 meters, which is much larger than the Boeing we have already described. The maximum take-off mass of this aircraft is 640 thousand kilograms, and cruising speed is 850 kilometers per hour. The practical range is more than 15 thousand kilometers.
The need to build such a powerful aircraft appeared when the developers were puzzled by the creation of an air transport system for the reusable Buran spacecraft project. The main objective of this project was to ensure the transportation of all kinds of components of the launch vehicle from the place of production of the spacecraft to the place of its direct launch. At the same time, there was another important task: to deliver the space shuttle to the cosmodrome if it lands on the alternate aerodrome.
Tasks of the An-225
An-225 was also expected to be used as the first stage of the spacecraft’s air launch system, which required the aircraft to have a carrying capacity of at least 250 tons. It is interesting that the blocks of the Energia launch vehicle, and even the Buran itself, had dimensions that exceeded the dimensions of the cargo compartment of the aircraft. In this case, an external cargo securing system was provided.
As a result, the AN-225 was designed exclusively for solving a rather narrow range of transport problems in the exclusively space industry, and began to be used as a universal transport aircraft, which today stands on the balance of Ukrainian air forces.
Current state
After the Soviet Union collapsed, the An-225 stopped flying for many years. In 1994, engines and other valuable equipment were removed from it to be used on Ruslan aircraft.
But in the early 2000s, the need for such a powerful transport aircraft reappeared. It was restored at Ukrainian plants. At the same time, the airliner was finalized and improved to comply with the standards of aircraft that are used in civil aviation.
In 2001, the commercial use of this aircraft for the delivery of bulky goods began. Now the An-225 continues to carry out commercial cargo flights. At the same time, design tests are carried out on its use as a flying launch complex, which can be used in aerospace systems.
In 2016, the plane flew from Ukraine to Australia, making four intermediate landings on its way. It took a long trip to get a generator weighing 117 thousand kilograms.
Second An-225
The second instance of this aircraft was never completed, its readiness is estimated at 70 percent. They plan to launch it at the Antonov plant when the necessary funding appears. At the moment, it is obvious that the car will be completed only if a private investor appears.
According to recent estimates, about $ 90 million is required to put another An-225 into operation, and together with the necessary tests, the amount grows by another third. In 2016, it was reported that a Chinese company became interested in the project, even a preliminary agreement of intent was signed. But at the end of last year, it became known that Chinese investors lost interest in the aircraft due to the fact that most airports in the world are not able to accept aircraft of this size and size. Therefore, in the Middle Kingdom they considered the project unprofitable.
Absolute record holder
Before that, we talked about record-breaking airplanes already launched into mass or piece production, but the real leader of this rating has never taken off. This is the American Stratolaunch launch vehicle, which is designed to launch space launch vehicles.
Today it is the longest aircraft in the world - 117 meters, that’s how much its wingspan is. The weight of the aircraft is 250 tons, and with a full load it can reach almost six hundred tons. The plane has never once flown in the air, its presentation took place on May 31 last year in the Mojave Desert, located in California. At the end of 2017, testers tested the brake system and chassis.
The launch of this project has been known since 2011, since then American developers have been working on this transport aircraft. After the presentation, it became apparent that it would be a two-body monoplane with a record length. Here it is - the longest aircraft in the world, and its length in m and km is 117.3 meters or 0.1173 kilometers, respectively.
At the same time, it is not known how many crew members will be needed to lift it into the air.
The longest airplane flight in the world
In recent years, many airlines in the world have sought to achieve a record non-stop flight in order to win the honorary title of leader in this field. Immediately it is worth noting that an ultra-long non-stop flight should be understood as a commercial flight of an aircraft that is operated in the absence of intermediate landings between the departure and arrival airports. The length of such a route should be at least 12 thousand kilometers.
It is believed that the world's first truly significant flight took Boeing 707 in June 1961, covering a little more than nine and a half hours the distance between New York and Tel Aviv, which amounted to 9 137 kilometers.
This record was broken in 1975 by Iran Air, which began to operate regular flights from Tehran to New York on a Boeing 747SP. This distance is 9,867 kilometers. The travel time was 11 hours and a quarter, which was a record for civil aviation. The airline had big plans. It was planned in the near future to establish a regular and direct connection between Tehran and Los Angeles (this distance is 12,222 kilometers), but this was prevented by the Islamic revolution, which occurred in 1979, and the flight to New York was soon canceled.
World record
To date, the longest flight on a plane in the world was completed on February 6 last year by a Qatar Airways aircraft. The plane went on a commercial flight from Doha to Auckland, covering a distance of 14,535 kilometers in 16 hours and 23 minutes. Departing from Qatar, the ship landed in New Zealand.
It turned out to be a truly amazing flight, during which the plane overcame ten time zones. Onboard were 250 passengers, one and a half dozen stewards and stewardesses and four pilots. During this direct flight, passengers drank more than one thousand cups of coffee and tea, two thousand servings of soft drinks and more than a thousand servings of food.
All passengers noted that the flight went fine, without any incidents, everything was as comfortable as possible. Takeoff and landing were flawless.
Attempts to break the record
After this flight, several attempts were made that were close to breaking this record, but so far no one has succeeded.
The closest was the aircraft Boeing 787-9, owned by the Australian airline Qantas. In March 2018, the aircraft departed from Perth, and landed after 17 hours and 8 minutes at London Heathrow Airport, covering 14,499 kilometers. This is the second place in the list of champions in terms of direct flights.
The absolute record could be set in 2013, when a Singapore Airlines plane took off from Newark's US airport to Singapore. The flight range was supposed to be 15,345 kilometers, but it was not possible to complete the flight without an intermediate landing. The record could not be established.