Largest aircraft by wingspan
Who
Stratolaunch
What
117.35 metre(s)
Where
United States ()
When

On Wednesday, 31 May 2017, the gargantuan Stratolaunch aeroplane was rolled out of its hangar at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California for the first time. Its 117.35-m (385-ft) wingspan is the largest of any aircraft.

The Stratolaunch project is the brainchild Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. The plane, built by California aerospace company Scaled Composites, is designed to carry space rockets to the edge of the Earth’s atmosphere – which is more cost-effective than launching them from the ground.

Powered by six Boeing 747 engines, the twin-fuselage aircraft can carry a payload of up to 226,796 kg (500,000 lb).

It completed its first successful engine test in September 2017, and is due to make its first flight in 2019.