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The giant Hughes H-4 Hercules flying boat was constructed from timber, earning it the name the "Spruce Goose". When finally flown briefly in 1947, its 97.82 metres (320 ft 11 in) wingspan made it the largest plane ever to fly until the Stratolaunch at 117 metres (385 ft) was flown for the first time on April 13, 2019.
Nuclear-powered, 1,120 feet (340 m) wing span, airborne aircraft carrier: Boeing RC-1: 1970s: 1584.57 tons "flying pipeline", proposed before the 1973 oil crisis: Conroy Virtus: 1974: 379.90 tons 140 m wingspan, to carry Space Shuttle parts Beriev Be-2500: 1980s: 2460.57 tons Super heavy amphibious transport aircraft Beriev Be-5000 1980s: 4921. ...
January 20, 1942. Retired. 1944. Developed from. Messerschmitt Me 321. The Messerschmitt Me 323 Gigant ("Giant") was a German military transport aircraft of World War II. It was a powered variant of the Me 321 military glider and was the largest land-based transport aircraft to fly during the war. In total, 213 were made, with 15 being ...
The history of aviation spans over two millennia, from the earliest innovations like kites and daring attempts at tower jumping to supersonic and hypersonic flight in powered, heavier-than-air jet aircraft. Kite flying in China, dating back several hundred years BC, is considered the earliest example of man-made flight.
The Horten H.IX, RLM designation Ho 229 (or Gotha Go 229 for extensive re-design work done by Gotha to prepare the aircraft for mass production) was a German prototype fighter /bomber designed by Reimar and Walter Horten to be built by Gothaer Waggonfabrik. Developed at a late stage of the Second World War, it was one of the first flying wing ...
Retired. 1948. (76 years ago) (1948) The Boeing 314 Clipper was an American long-range flying boat produced by Boeing from 1938 to 1941. One of the largest aircraft of its time, it had the range to cross the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. For its wing, Boeing re-used the design from the earlier XB-15 bomber prototype.
The SR-71 was the world's fastest and highest-flying air-breathing operational manned aircraft throughout its career and it still holds that record. On 28 July 1976, SR-71 serial number 61-7962, piloted by then Captain Robert Helt, broke the world record: an "absolute altitude record" of 85,069 feet (25,929 m).
Boeing YAL-1. The Boeing YAL-1 airborne laser testbed was a modified Boeing 747-400F with a megawatt-class chemical oxygen iodine laser (COIL) mounted inside. It was primarily designed to test its feasibility as a missile defense system to destroy tactical ballistic missiles (TBMs) while in boost phase. The aircraft was designated YAL-1A in ...