What is the largest passenger aircraft in the world?

These giants plow the sky with ease and grace, and, looking at them from the ground, no one thinks that these steel birds are such a huge structure that the height of the tail of one of these liners - A-380 - is five giraffes, set Each other. The Airbus A-380 is the largest passenger aircraft in the world, but this article will not only be about it.

"Boeing 747"

Among passenger aircraft, the Airbus A380 and Boeing 747 have the largest size. These are liners that can simultaneously carry more than five hundred passengers. In particular, the A380 is capable of lifting 853 passengers into the air. Before the advent of this giant, the Boeing 747 with a length of 70.6 meters and the Boeing 747-8 with a length of 76.25 meters (the longest passenger aircraft) were the most spacious airliners in the world (the maximum number of simultaneously transported passengers reached 600 people). The Boeing 747-8 is more economical in terms of fuel consumption than the Boeing 747, which first flew on February 9, 1969. The designers originally planned a two-deck aircraft design, but the upper deck was shortened due to technical problems. The Boeing 747 was the first airliner in the world to have two aisles between seats. This aircraft is certified to fly on three engines, and if one of the four fails, the vessel will fully take off, fly and land on the remaining three engines. At the same time, the cruising speed of a Boeing 747 passenger aircraft is 913 km/h.

Giant A-380

The giant double-deck "Frenchman" - the A380 liner, the first copy of which rolled off the assembly line in 2005 - is the largest passenger aircraft in the history of world aviation. Indeed, its creators have something to be proud of - the cabin of the Airbus A380 accommodates 853 passengers. To date, more than 110 machines have already been built and put into operation. The monthly production of these liners is 2.5 cars. Today, these giants are used by 20 airlines, the Emirates airline has the largest fleet.

The cruising speed of the passenger aircraft A380 reaches 1020 km/h. Each airliner consists of about four million individual parts and components, which are manufactured in thirty countries around the world by one and a half thousand manufacturing companies and delivered using a unique logistics system developed by Airbus, which includes a route by water, as well as by air and by road. Each landing gear can withstand a load of about 260 tons (200 cars). For comparison with its predecessor, the wing area of ​​the A380 aircraft is equal to one and a half wing areas of the Boeing 747-400 and is 845 square meters.

The largest passenger aircraft in the world can be equipped with two types of quiet engines: either the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 or the Engine Alliance GP7000. At the same time, the A380 is the most economical airliner in its segment - fuel consumption for passenger transportation per 100 km with a cabin layout of 525 seats does not exceed three liters.

The dimensions of passenger aircraft are impressive, the cabin area of ​​the A380 is 554 square meters. The liner has two decks - the main one, the width of which is a record high - 6.5 meters, and the upper one with a width of 5.8 meters.

An air volume of 1,500 cubic meters is replaced by an air conditioning system every three minutes; during the flight, there is pleasant silence in the cabin of the liner, the hum of turbines is almost inaudible.

Russia is proud of them

And what does the domestic aviation industry offer us? The largest turboprop aircraft in the world is the Antonov An-22. Its length is about 60 meters, the flight speed is 580 km/h. The first liner was launched in 1965.

"That"

The legendary Tu-134 is a passenger airliner for flights over medium distances, up to 2800 meters. It is designed for a maximum of 96 seats, its cruising speed is 850 km / h at an altitude of 11000 m. The Tu-154 is a larger aircraft, 158 people are accommodated in the cabin of three classes, 180 in the economy class. The maximum flight speed of this liner is 950 km / h, and the Tu-154M modification is capable of covering distances up to 5200 km.

Tu-204 accommodates 214 passengers, and the cruising speed is slightly less than the previous "brother" - 850 km / h.

"su"

The Sukhoi Superjet-100 is not the largest passenger aircraft in the world, but it is famous for being the first Russian airliner designed using digital technologies. It is designed for flights up to 3,000 kilometers on lightly loaded airlines. The maximum number of passengers is 98 people.

"Il"

Speaking of domestic aircraft, one cannot fail to mention the Ilyushins. Russian passenger aircraft represented by this design bureau have several basic types that are well known to us. Let's talk about each of them in more detail.

Let's start with the simplest - the Il-62, an airliner that has been produced since 1971 and is designed for flights over medium distances - up to 10,000 kilometers. This aircraft can accommodate 198 passengers and five crew members. Its top speed at cruising altitude is 850 km/h.

As for the Il-86 aircraft, it is also designed for flights over medium distances, a cabin containing two classes can accommodate 234 passengers, if a three-class aircraft, then 314 people. At the same time, 11 flight attendants serve customers. The aircraft are equipped with twelve emergency ladders and all the necessary modern rescue systems. The cruising speed of the Il-86 is 950 km/h, the distances it flies do not exceed 5,000 kilometers, with a maximum flight duration of eight hours.

IL-96

Now about the largest representative of the Ilyushin family - the Il-96 airbus. It is designed for long distance flights. Three hundred people in economy class and 262 passengers in the cabin of three classes - this figure is practically the same as the previous described model of this family. The liner flies with a maximum cruising speed of 900 km/h and is capable of covering a distance of up to 12,100 km. Its improved "model" - Il-96M - accommodates a larger number of passengers - up to 435 people in a charter version.

Immediate perspective, or Domestic developments

To date, the largest Russian aircraft project is the Irkut MS-21. Within its framework, it is planned to produce short-medium-haul passenger liners. Now Irkut is developing and building, the first copies of the aircraft according to the plan will be certified in 2016, at the same time flight tests will begin. The start of mass-scale production of MS-21 is expected from 2017-2018. In the Russian passenger aircraft market, these liners should replace the Tu-154 and Tu-204 and will be operated on domestic and international airlines.

The project is not developing the largest passenger aircraft in the world, but the family of airliners being created will include various aircraft of three types in terms of length and passenger capacity - 150, 180 and 210 seats. The lineup will include aircraft with extended range. The cruising altitude of the ship will be 11,600 kilometers, the speed that the liner will develop will be 870 km/h, the maximum fuselage length is 39.5 meters. The crew will consist of two people.

As for the progress of work, the base of the project is the Yak-242. The development of the new wing belongs to the Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company, the fuselage work is carried out directly by the Irkut Corporation and the Yakovlev Design Bureau.

It is assumed that the new liners will be more economical due to the use of modern composite materials, as well as new generation engines. The aircraft will be equipped with Pratt & Whitney geared turbofan engines; in the future, it is possible to install domestic Perm PD-14 engines.