From Aerospaceweb.org
In summary, aircraft sizes are typically compared by weight rather than length or wingspan. The largest plane in the world at the current time is therefore the An-225, though the A380 will likely overtake it in the near future. The largest wingspan, however, still belongs to the Spruce Goose at nearly 320 feet. By this measure, the An-225 would be a distant second place at 290 ft, and the A380 falls short at 262 ft.
- answer by Molly Swanson, 8 August 2004
Additional Rankings:
Since this article was posted, we have received several messages from readers who believe the C-5 Galaxy transport operated by the US Air Force ranks second or third place and should be included. The C-5 was the world's largest plane when it was introduced in the late 1960s, but it has since been overtaken by the jet-powered aircraft discussed above.
C-5 Galaxy
The C-5 remained the world's largest plane until the introduction of the An-124, and the C-5 has since been surpassed by the An-225, enlarged models of the 747, and the new A380 as well. The current ranking of the world's largest aircraft by maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) is shown in the following table.
| Rank | Aircraft | MTOW [lb] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | An-225 Mriya | 1,300,000 | - |
| 2. | Airbus A380 | 1,230,000 | - |
| 3. | Boeing 747-400ER | 910,000 | the 747-8 under development will reach 960,000 lb |
| 4. | An-124 Ruslan | 892,870 | - |
| 5. | C-5 Galaxy | 840,000 | wartime max load, peacetime load is limited to 769,000 lb |
| 6. | Airbus A340-600 HGW | 837,755 | high-gross weight variant |
With a wingspan of 223 ft, the C-5 currently ranks sixth after the Spruce Goose (320 ft), An-225 (290 ft), A380 (262 ft), An-124 (240 ft), and a tie between the Brabazon and B-36 (230 ft). The C-5 has a larger span than the 747-400 (211 ft) but will soon be narrowly beaten by the new 747-8 variant with a wingspan of nearly 225 ft.
- answer by Greg Alexander, 11 November 2005