THE world's biggest cargo aircraft have been ranked by Arabian SupplyChain.com in terms of maximum take-off weight (MTOW).
No 1 is the Antonov An-225 with an MTOW of 600,000 kilogrammes. This aircraft is powered by six Ivchenko Progress D-18T turbofan engines and has seven pairs of wheels on each landing gear.
No 2 is the Airbus A380F with an MTOW of 590,000 kilogrammes, powered by either Rolls-Royce Trent engines, or GP7277s from GE and Pratt & Whitney.
No 3 is the Antonov An-124, the largest mass produced cargo plane, with an MTOW of 405,000 kilogrammes. It is powered by four Ivchenko Progress D-18T turbofans and features an easy-loading "keel" system and has enabled the flight of whole aircraft engines for Airbus and Rolls-Royce.
No 4 is the Boeing's Dreamlifter, the 747 Large Cargo Freighter with an MTOW of 364,235 kilogrammes. It is a modified Boeing 747-400 with an 8.38-metre wide fuselage developed to ferry aircraft parts. A conversion, it is powered by four Pratt & Whitney PW4000 turbofans.
No 5 is the McDonnell Douglas MD-11F with an MTOW of 286,000 kilogrammes, Fifty-three of this MD-11F variant were built between 1988 and 2000, and can be powered either by GE or Pratt & Whitney engines.
No 6 is the Ilyushin IL-96T with an MTOW of 270,000 kilogrammes. The freighter version is an Ilyushin-built wide-body aircraft powered by four Aviadvigatel PS90 engines.
No 7 is the Antonov An-22 with an MTOW of 250,000 kilogrammes. It is the first turboprop on the list with the added novelty that its engines are contra-rotating Kuznetsov NK-12s.
No 8 is the IL-76 MF/TF with an MTOW of 210,000 kilogrammes, designed to carry water for firefighting. It is an aircraft capable of carrying 49,000 litres of water in its water-bomber configuration.
No 9 is the Airbus A300-600 Super Transporter with an MTOW of 155,000 kilogrammes, powered by two GE CF6 turbofan engines.
No 10 is the Antonov An-70 with an MTOW of 145,000 kilogrammes, powered by Progress D-27 propfan engines. Propfan engines offer fuel efficiency, but make more noise than comparable turbofans.
No 11 is the B-377-SG/SGT Super Guppy with MTOW of 77,110 kilogrammes. This is the frontrunner for the ugly aircraft award and was built directly on the fuselage of a military Boeing 377, the C-97 J Turbo Stratocruiser. Powered by four Allison 501-D22C turboprops, plane doesn't lift the most, but noteworthy for its bulbous fuselage and a 7.6 metre interior diameter.
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