The world of aircrafts is full of huge planes, so much so that it is often impossible to determine which ones amongst them are the biggest ones out there.

One of the biggest factors is that planes comes in different sizes and shapes and are also made for a variety of purposes. Mentioned here are top 4 largest aircrafts or at least the top 4 contenders for being the biggest planes on the face of earth.

They all have different reasons for being in my list on this travel blog; let us take a quick look –

Antonov An-225h: The longest plane

This gigantic aircraft was built back in 1988 for carrying Buran Orbiter, which was Soviet Union’s equivalent to America’s Space Shuttle. There was only one of this aircraft ever manufactured; though the second was also started but could never reach its end. After the country’s collapse three years later in 1991, the particular space program also collapsed. Orbiter, which was launched for the first times in 1988, was later mothballed. Through one of the hanger accidents the spacecraft was destroyed. In 1994, An-225 was placed in storage only to return back to service few days later. The manufacturing of second piece of this plane resumed many times and then stopped for different reasons.

Boeing 747: The longest plane presently in production

This plane is 250 ft 2 inches long and holds the record for being the longest plane presently in production. It was in 1970, when 747 flew for the very first time and 747-8, which is one of the new Boeing airplanes, is the 4^th generation model. The plane is offered both in freight and passenger designs and engineers are trying to make use of the latest cost saving technologies to be able to compete with the likes of A380. 747 is considered as one of the most dominant aircrafts that has been around for such a long time. Back in 2007, 747 was responsible for transporting around half air freight of the world.

Hughes H-4 Hercules: The plane with longest wings

Howard Hughes started building this massive aircraft during World War II. The plan was to manufacture a huge aircraft, which was capable of transporting 2 Sherman tanks in one flight. It was mostly built of woods for saving metals to be used for other important equipments needed for war equipments. The biggest problem was also the fact that it was being manufactured of wood and Hughes was someone who yearned for perfection with every single thing. These were the factors responsible for delay of the project and though H-4’s manufacturing started in 1942, it could not end before 1945 when the war came to an end. Hughes, however, continued with his project despite severe criticism coming from every corner for his delays.

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