The biggest aircraft by wingspan, length and height
The Airbus A380-800 has the longest wingspan (261.7 ft) and the tallest tail (79.0 ft) of the 364 types on this site, while the Boeing 777-9 is the longest at 251.8 ft.
Every ranking here is limited to the types in the FAA Aircraft Characteristics Database that passed this site’s checks. Types the FAA does not list, and the records left out for inconsistent data (such as the A330-300 and the 747 Dreamlifter), are absent, so these are the largest of the file, not of every aircraft ever built.
Wingspan
The A380-800 leads by a wide margin: its span is 8.8% wider than the runner-up, the Antonov An-124 Ruslan at 240.5 ft. The 777-8 and 777-9 share third place at 235.4 ft. All five of the widest types are in Design Group VI, the band that begins at 214 ft.
| Rank | Type | Wingspan |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Airbus A380-800 | 261.7 ft |
| 2 | Antonov An-124 Ruslan | 240.5 ft |
| 3 | Boeing 777-8 | 235.4 ft |
| 4 | Boeing 777-9 | 235.4 ft |
| 5 | Boeing 747-8 | 224.4 ft |
| 6 | Boeing 777-300ER | 212.6 ft |
| 7 | Airbus A350-900 | 212.4 ft |
| 8 | Airbus A350-1000 | 212.4 ft |
| 9 | Boeing 777-200LR / 777F | 212.1 ft |
| 10 | Airbus A330-800 | 210.0 ft |
Length
Length tells a different story. The 777-9 is the longest type in the file, with the Boeing 747-8 only 1.6 ft behind. The A380-800 ranks sixth; it is a short, wide, tall aircraft for its span. Five of the ten longest are 747 variants.
| Rank | Type | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boeing 777-9 | 251.8 ft |
| 2 | Boeing 747-8 | 250.2 ft |
| 3 | Airbus A340-600 | 247.2 ft |
| 4 | Boeing 777-300ER | 242.3 ft |
| 5 | Airbus A350-1000 | 241.4 ft |
| 6 | Airbus A380-800 | 238.6 ft |
| 7 | Boeing 747-400 | 231.9 ft |
| 8 | Boeing 747-100 | 231.8 ft |
| 9 | Boeing 747-200 | 231.8 ft |
| 10 | Boeing 747-300 | 231.8 ft |
Tail height
The A380-800’s tail, at 79.0 ft, is 15.8% taller than the next, the An-124’s. These are tail heights at operating empty weight, as the FAA publishes them, so they can differ slightly from brochure figures. Group VI tops out at 80 ft of tail height, and the A380-800 is the only type that comes within 1 ft of it.
| Rank | Type | Tail height |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Airbus A380-800 | 79.0 ft |
| 2 | Antonov An-124 Ruslan | 68.2 ft |
| 3 | Boeing 747-200 | 64.7 ft |
| 4 | Boeing 777-9 | 64.6 ft |
| 5 | Boeing 747-100 | 64.3 ft |
| 6 | Boeing 747-300 | 64.3 ft |
| 7 | Boeing 747-400 | 64.3 ft |
| 8 | Boeing 747-8 | 64.2 ft |
| 9 | Boeing 777-8 | 63.9 ft |
| 10 | Airbus A330-700L BelugaXL | 62.0 ft |
Weight
Maximum takeoff weight follows the same leader. The A380-800’s 1,267,658 lb is 28.4% above the Boeing 747-8. The weights are those of the sub-model the FAA chose for each ICAO designator.
| Rank | Type | MTOW |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Airbus A380-800 | 1,267,658 lb |
| 2 | Boeing 747-8 | 987,000 lb |
| 3 | Boeing 747-400 | 910,000 lb |
| 4 | Antonov An-124 Ruslan | 892,871 lb |
| 5 | Airbus A340-500 | 837,756 lb |
| 6 | Airbus A340-600 | 837,756 lb |
| 7 | Boeing 747-200 | 833,000 lb |
| 8 | Boeing 747-300 | 833,000 lb |
| 9 | Boeing 777-300ER | 775,000 lb |
| 10 | Boeing 777-8 | 775,000 lb |
The plan box
Multiplying wingspan by length gives the rectangle that encloses each type’s top view. The A380-800’s plan box is 62,442 ft², the largest in the file; the Boeing 777-9 follows at 59,274 ft², 5.1% smaller, and the Boeing 747-8 third at 56,145 ft². Shape decides the order as much as size does: of the ten widest types, only five (the A380-800, the An-124, the 777-8, the 777-200LR and the A330-800) have a wingspan greater than their length. For scale, the smallest plan box in the file belongs to the Grumman American AA1, at 471 ft², about 133 times smaller than the A380-800’s.
In US records
The FAA file also counts US flight-plan operations in FY2024 and aircraft on the US register. For the five widest types the operations run from 2 to 78,946, with the A380-800 at 27,682; two of the five have no aircraft on the US register. These figures reflect US flight plans and the US register only, not where the types fly elsewhere.
Gear and wheelbase
The widest main gear in the file is not on the A380-800 but on the Northrop B-2 Spirit, at 47.4 ft against the A380-800’s 47.0 ft. Behind them come the Boeing 777-200LR / 777F, McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and Boeing 777-200. The longest wheelbase belongs to the Airbus A340-600 at 107.9 ft.
The largest of each engine type
Among turboprops, the Airbus A400M Atlas leads in wingspan (139.1 ft), length and tail height; it is one of five turboprops in Design Group IV. Among piston aircraft the Douglas DC-6 has both the widest span (117.5 ft) and the greatest length (100.6 ft). The largest jets are the ones in the tables above. Of the five Design Group VI types, the A380-800, the An-124 and the 747-8 have four engines, and the 777-8 and 777-9 have two.
The other end of the scale
The smallest wingspan in the file belongs to the Grumman American AA1 at 24.4 ft, which is also the shortest type at 19.3 ft. The lowest tail is the Ercoupe 415’s at 5.9 ft. The overlay of the two shows both ends of the file at one scale.
Shape, not just size
Dividing wingspan by length shows how the extremes differ in shape. The Northrop B-2 Spirit flying wing has a span 2.5 times its length, the highest ratio in the file, followed by agricultural and light piston types. At the other end the Northrop T-38 Talon trainer has a span only 54.6% of its length, followed by two fighters and two regional jets.
Wing against body: the extremes of span-to-length ratio
Sources: FAA Aircraft Characteristics Database, October 2024 release. Ranks and ratios computed by this site.