# How big can airplanes get?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-can-airplanes-get/595354>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 6, 2011, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-can-airplanes-get/595354 "2011-09-06T03:32:21Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\
**Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-can-airplanes-get/595354/21 "2011-09-06T16:54:01Z")

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> [@Johnny\_L.A](#):
>
> The Antonov An-225 is currently the world’s largest aircraft. (Though the Hughes H-4 Hercules has a wider wingspan and is taller, but it only flew the one time.) There is only one An-225.  
> .

I’ve [seen](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=240035) that plane a handful of times, pretty impressive to watch it take off…even more impressive to see it’s wings hanging over both sides of a bridge that you’ve driven under a thousand times and seen hundreds of airplanes land on and suddenly realize how small all those 747s actually are.

(Seriously, I love when the timing works out so a plane touches down on the bridge just as I’m about to drive under it, it’s surreal, but after seeing the 225 taxi over the bridge, with it’s wings hanging over both sides) planes landing on this thing seem no bigger then birds)

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