World’s largest aeroplane with six Boeing 747 engines completes successful flight

[Chris]

World’s largest aeroplane with six Boeing 747 engines completes successful flight

The world’s largest aeroplane recently completed its second successful test flight over the Mojave Desert in California.

The Stratolaunch hypersonic test-flight carrier, nicknamed “the Roc”, took to the skies for the first time in two years.

It flew for three hours and fourteen minutes, reaching an altitude of 14,000 ft (4,267m).

 

[konfab]

THICC

 

[hj007]

Needs more engines

 

[G.A.S]

I guess it depends what is meant by "largest". The Antonov An-225 Mriya still compares well in a number of metrics.

Might have been more accurate to say longest wingspan, or something more specific.

 

[Fulcrum29]

I guess it depends what is meant by "largest". The Antonov An-225 Mriya still compares well in a number of metrics.

Might have been more accurate to say longest wingspan, or something more specific.

There is a comparison table, to quote Wiki:

Model 351 Stratolaunch (Roc)​

Scaled Composites Stratolaunch - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

General characteristics

• Length: 238 ft (73 m) [17]
• Wingspan: 385 ft (117 m) [17]
• Height: 50 ft (15 m) [17]
• Empty weight: 500,000 lb (226,796 kg) [17]
• Gross weight: 750,000 lb (340,194 kg) with no external payload[17]
• Max takeoff weight: 1,300,000 lb (589,670 kg) [17]
• External payload: 550,000 lb (250,000 kg)[17]
• Powerplant: 6 × Pratt & Whitney PW4056 turbofan, 56,750 lbf (252.4 kN) thrust each [36]
• Maximum speed: 460 kn (530 mph, 850 km/h) [13]
• Range: 1,000 nmi (1,200 mi, 1,900 km) radius[42]
• Ferry range: 2,500 nmi (2,900 mi, 4,600 km) [10]
• Service ceiling: 35,000[2] ft (11,000 m) with payload

Antonov An-225 Mriya​

Antonov An-225 Mriya - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

General characteristics

• Crew: 6
• Length: 84 m (275 ft 7 in)
• Wingspan: 88.4 m (290 ft 0 in)
• Height: 18.1 m (59 ft 5 in)
• Wing area: 905 m2 (9,740 sq ft)
• Aspect ratio: 8.6
• Empty weight: 285,000 kg (628,317 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 640,000 kg (1,410,958 lb)
• Fuel capacity: more than 300,000 kg (661,000 lb)[60]
• Cargo hold: volume 1,300 m3 (46,000 cu ft), 43.35 m (142.2 ft) long × 6.4 m (21 ft) wide × 4.4 m (14 ft) tall
• Powerplant: 6 × Progress D-18T turbofans, 229.5 kN (51,600 lbf) thrust each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 850 km/h (530 mph, 460 kn)
• Cruise speed: 800 km/h (500 mph, 430 kn)
• Range: 15,400 km (9,600 mi, 8,300 nmi) with maximum fuel; range with 200 tonnes payload: 4,000 km (2,500 mi)
• Service ceiling: 11,000 m (36,000 ft)
• Wing loading: 662.9 kg/m2 (135.8 lb/sq ft)
• Thrust/weight: 0.234

 

[Fulcrum29]

Strictly speaking the Stratolaunch will be an airborne carrier or mothership to be apt.

 

[ScottulusMaximus]

I thought this plane was dead, awesome!

 

[Fulcrum29]

I thought this plane was dead, awesome!

Kinda explained in this article,

Stratolaunch resurrects its hypersonic rocket vehicle under a new name: Talon-A

Now that it's under new management, Stratolaunch is retooling a concept for a rocket-powered hypersonic vehicle that it first unveiled 18 months ago.

www.geekwire.com

Stratolaunch resurrects its hypersonic rocket vehicle under a new name: Talon-A​

Now that it’s under new management, Stratolaunch is retooling a concept for a rocket-powered hypersonic vehicle that it first unveiled 18 months ago.

Back then, it was called the Hyper-A testbed vehicle, and it represented one of the engineering frontiers for Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s space venture.

A month later, Allen passed away at the age of 65 after battling a recurrence of non-Hodgkin’s disease. Stratolaunch went through a year’s worth of retrenching, leading to a change of ownership last October.

The new ownership group, led by billionaire investor Steve Feinberg, recently confirmed that it was continuing Stratolaunch’s work on hypersonic vehicles — and today it unveiled a rebranded version of the Hyper-A, now known as the Talon-A.

Stratolaunch also said it eventually intends to develop a larger hypersonic vehicle once known as Hyper-Z, and now called Talon-Z, plus a space plane nicknamed Black Ice that could carry payloads and perhaps even people to orbit.

 

[acidrain]

This article would've lost if this was trump cards

 

[Dups!]

I guess it depends what is meant by "largest". The Antonov An-225 Mriya still compares well in a number of metrics.

Might have been more accurate to say longest wingspan, or something more specific.

Funny how the first plane I thought of was the Antonov when I read "largest."

 

[Geoff.D]

Creative clickbait journalism at its best.
But it was at least interesting to read up on this again from a technical point of view.

 

[Rickster]

Isn't the B-52 Stratofortress larger?

 

[JustJack]

How to really get your reporting facts wrong

World’s largest aeroplane with six Boeing 747 engines completes successful flight

vs.

The world’s largest aeroplane recently completed its SECOND successful test flight over the Mojave Desert in California.​

 

[bromster]

That could be tricky to land in a crosswind. I guess it will only be operating on specialised, wider runways.

 

[The_MAC]

Having some rudimentary aeronautical knowledge from my under-grad studies, I am very curious on how this type of dual-fuselage design changes the dynamics and control of the craft.

I would imagine it is more stable, but less nimble..

 

[Gordon_R]

Having some rudimentary aeronautical knowledge from my under-grad studies, I am very curious on how this type of dual-fuselage design changes the dynamics and control of the craft.

I would imagine it is more stable, but less nimble..

According to Wikipedia it's mostly based on B747 flight systems, nothing exotic:

Scaled Composites Stratolaunch - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[dualmeister]

So there is one cockpit, but both have windscreens

 

[The_MAC]

So there is one cockpit, but both have windscreens

View attachment 1061869
View attachment 1061871

One for UK and it's colonies, and the other for the rest of the world i.e. Left and Right sided driving

 

[Gordon_R]

So there is one cockpit, but both have windscreens

Must be epic to have two webcams, stereo vision!

 

[Willie Trombone]