The variety of aircraft nowadays is amazing.
You can meet planes of various shapes, colors, and sizes, from small business jets to cargo giants. Compared to some people, a person seems like a tiny insect, you look and wonder how such a huge thing can stay in the air? Most recently, the largest Stratolaunch aircraft has shown itself to the world, which we will talk about.
In 2011, it was announced that work had begun on a project to create this giant. A huge hangar was built especially for him in the Mojave Desert and construction began. In 2017, the construction was completed. The aircraft turned out to be truly impressive: its wingspan is 117 meters, its length is 73 meters. It’s even hard to imagine such a scale, it’s almost like a house of 30 floors! This aircraft displaced the Soviet An-225 Mriya (88.4 m) in wingspan to second place, which for a long time remained the world leader. And what is this plane for? It looks unusual, and it doesn’t look like you can carry passengers or cargo in it…
Stratolaunch was developed as an “air launch” system for rockets and spaceplanes. Such a launch will be made from a height of 10,500 meters, which will significantly save fuel during takeoff, as well as set the desired trajectory. Stratolaunch Systems, a company specializing in the development of an aerospace system for delivering cargo into space, is engaged in all this.
The first flight of this aerial giant took place April 13 2019. During the test, the aircraft reached a speed of more than 300 km/ h and was able to climb to an altitude of more than 5 kilometers. The flight itself lasted about 2 hours, during which time the pilots were able to fully assess the flight quality, flight characteristics of the aircraft, and control capabilities. And the very sight of takeoff and landing did not leave anyone indifferent who was able to observe it.