Biggest Container Airplane

The biggest container airplane is the Antonov An-225. The aircraft is 84 m (275.6 ft) long and weighs 285,000 kg (628,315 lb) when empty. The maximum takeoff weight is 640,000 kg or 1,323,000 lb.

Design

The An-225 comes with fuselage barrel extensions. It is based on the An-124 but has aft and fore for the wings. A couple of Ivchenko Progress D-18T turbofan engines were included in the design.

The landing gear design includes 32 wheels the twin tail was built in. Otherwise, the plane would not be able to lift oversized loads. The An-225 is made for airlifting only. It is not meant for short-field operation.

The biggest container airplane is heavier than the Airbus A380. The Hughes H-4 Hercules possesses a longer wingspan and is taller. However, it is shorter by 20% than the An-225. It is also lighter.

Moreover, the Hercules flew just once due to technical problems. It’s also worth nothing that the An-225 is bigger than the Airbus A380. The An-225 is also larger than the Lockheed C-5, the next largest heavy cargo aircraft. The An-225 is operated by six crew members.

Performance

The airplane has a top speed of 850 km/h (460 knots, 530 mph). The cruising speed is 800 km/h (430 knots, 500 mph). Its range depends on the configuration. With the maximum payload of 4,000 km (2,500 mi), the range is 4,000 km (2,500 mi).

With maximum fuel, it is 15,400 km (9,570 mi). The An-225’s service ceiling is 11,000 m (36,100 ft). The wing loading is 662.9 kg/m2 (135.5 lb/ft2). It has a thrust/weight of 0.234.

Technical Specifications

The payload is 250,000 kg (550,000 lb). Its door measures 440 x 640 cm (14.4 x 21 ft). The wingspan is 88.4 m (290 ft 2 in). The aircraft is 18.1 m (59.3 ft) high. The aspect ratio is 8.6 and the wing area is 905 m2 (9,743.7 ft2).

The cargo volume is 1,300 m3 (46,000 cu ft). The An-225 has a maximum takeoff weight of 640,000 kg or 1,323,000 lb. The takeoff run is 3,500 m (11,500 ft) with maximum payload.

Usage

The An-225 has been used to transport objects that would not be possible with smaller aircraft. It has been used to carry 150 ton generators and locomotives.

In addition, the biggest container airplane is used for carrying large amounts of emergency supplies in emergency relief work. Since June 2003, it has delivered over 80 tons of humanitarian supplies to Iraq.