You can only make a plane so big if you still want it to fly, or a
vehicle so gigantic before it starts wrecking the land it travels
across. Ships, too, face similar challenges the larger they get. We’ve
found six gigantic examples that straddle the line between engineering
marvel and disaster, representing the biggest vehicles on the planet today.
Click to View More
World’s biggest what? Fixed-wing aircraft.
Built by: Antonov Design Bureau of Soviet Russia.
The An-225′s massive 290-foot wingspan makes it the largest plane flying today, and its cargo hold is so big that the entirety of the Wright brothers’ historic first flight could have taken place inside the Mriya. The craft can carry a space shuttle on its back, and it transports all manner of heavy loads, including train engines, 150-ton generators for power plants and 130-foot-long wind-turbine blades.
2. Airbus A380
World’s biggest what? Passenger airliner.
Built by: Airbus
The A380 started flying commercially in 2007, and is considered a “superjumbo” jet as it’s quite a bit larger than its “jumbo” brethren, such as the 747-400. In fact, the A380′s interior is 1.5 times as large as a 747′s, with over 5,000 square feet of floor space that accommodates anywhere between from 525 to over 800 passengers, depending on the seat layout. There are less than 50 A380s in the world today, but in the next few years there could be well over 200 thanks to the demand from airlines, which will make it less of specialty aircraft and more of a workhorse.
World’s biggest what? Longest ship ever built.
Built by: Sumitomo Heavy Industries of Japan.
To really get a sense of the size of the Knock Nevis, picture this: at over 1,500 feet in length, it’s longer than the Empire State Building is tall. The Nevis has been cruising the seas since 1979 under several different names, and it was actually sunk in the ’80s during the Iran-Iraq War, but the wreckage was bought, floated and rebuilt. In terms of pure tonnage, there’s a ship heavier — France’s Batillus-class supertankers — but none longer. The Nevis is going to be scrapped this year, so consider this a send-off.
Click to View More
1. Antonov An-225 Mriya
Built by: Antonov Design Bureau of Soviet Russia.
The An-225′s massive 290-foot wingspan makes it the largest plane flying today, and its cargo hold is so big that the entirety of the Wright brothers’ historic first flight could have taken place inside the Mriya. The craft can carry a space shuttle on its back, and it transports all manner of heavy loads, including train engines, 150-ton generators for power plants and 130-foot-long wind-turbine blades.
2. Airbus A380
Built by: Airbus
The A380 started flying commercially in 2007, and is considered a “superjumbo” jet as it’s quite a bit larger than its “jumbo” brethren, such as the 747-400. In fact, the A380′s interior is 1.5 times as large as a 747′s, with over 5,000 square feet of floor space that accommodates anywhere between from 525 to over 800 passengers, depending on the seat layout. There are less than 50 A380s in the world today, but in the next few years there could be well over 200 thanks to the demand from airlines, which will make it less of specialty aircraft and more of a workhorse.
3. Knock Nevis Supertanker
Built by: Sumitomo Heavy Industries of Japan.
To really get a sense of the size of the Knock Nevis, picture this: at over 1,500 feet in length, it’s longer than the Empire State Building is tall. The Nevis has been cruising the seas since 1979 under several different names, and it was actually sunk in the ’80s during the Iran-Iraq War, but the wreckage was bought, floated and rebuilt. In terms of pure tonnage, there’s a ship heavier — France’s Batillus-class supertankers — but none longer. The Nevis is going to be scrapped this year, so consider this a send-off.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments
(Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment