Records & Leaderboards

The record holders across every aircraft in the database - fastest, highest, biggest, most built and more. Every entry links to its full profile.

Rankings reflect the 169 aircraft currently in PlanesDB and update automatically as the database grows

Fastest Aircraft

Maximum speed in level flight.

  1. X-15 X-15North American Aviation4,520 mph
  2. 02 D-21Lockheed (Skunk Works)2,211 mph
  3. 03 SR-71 BlackbirdLockheed (Skunk Works)2,193 mph
  4. 04 XB-70 ValkyrieNorth American Aviation2,056 mph
  5. 05 F-15 EagleMcDonnell Douglas / Boeing1,650 mph
  6. 06Su-27 FlankerSukhoi1,553 mph
  7. 07Tu-144Tupolev1,553 mph
  8. 08 Eurofighter TyphoonEurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH (Airbus, BAE Systems, Leonardo)1,550 mph
  9. 09 F-14 TomcatGrumman1,544 mph
  10. 10 F-22 RaptorLockheed Martin1,500 mph

Longest Range

How far it can fly without refuelling.

  1. RQ-4 Global Hawk RQ-4 Global HawkNorthrop Grumman (originally Ryan Aeronautical)14,200 mi
  2. 02 B-36 PeacemakerConvair10,000 mi
  3. 03 A350Airbus9,787 mi
  4. 04Tu-95 BearTupolev9,320 mi
  5. 05 A380Airbus9,206 mi
  6. 06 KC2 VoyagerAirbus Defence and Space9,200 mi
  7. 07 747Boeing8,960 mi
  8. 08 B-52 StratofortressBoeing8,800 mi
  9. 09 777Boeing8,480 mi
  10. 10 G650Gulfstream Aerospace8,055 mi

Highest Flyers

Service ceiling - the highest usable altitude.

  1. X-15 X-15North American Aviation354,200 ft
  2. 02 D-21Lockheed (Skunk Works)95,000 ft
  3. 03 SR-71 BlackbirdLockheed (Skunk Works)85,000 ft
  4. 04 XB-70 ValkyrieNorth American Aviation77,350 ft
  5. 05 X-24Martin Marietta74,100 ft
  6. 06 X-1Bell Aircraft Corporation71,900 ft
  7. 07 U-2 Dragon LadyLockheed (Skunk Works)70,000 ft
  8. 08 J-20 Mighty DragonChengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC)66,000 ft
  9. 09Tu-144Tupolev66,000 ft
  10. 10Su-57 FelonSukhoi (United Aircraft Corporation)65,600 ft

Widest Wingspan / Rotor

Tip-to-tip across the wings, or rotor diameter for helicopters.

  1. Roc RocScaled Composites385 ft
  2. 02An-225 MriyaAntonov290 ft
  3. 03 A380Airbus261 ft 8 in
  4. 04An-124 RuslanAntonov241 ft
  5. 05 B-36 PeacemakerConvair230 ft
  6. 06 747Boeing224 ft 7 in
  7. 07 C-5 GalaxyLockheed222 ft 9 in
  8. 08 777Boeing212 ft 7 in
  9. 09 A350Airbus212 ft 5 in
  10. 10An-22 AnteiAntonov211 ft 3 in

Longest Aircraft

Nose-to-tail fuselage length.

  1. An-225 MriyaAn-225 MriyaAntonov275 ft 7 in
  2. 02 747Boeing250 ft 2 in
  3. 03 C-5 GalaxyLockheed247 ft 10 in
  4. 04 777Boeing242 ft 4 in
  5. 05 A380Airbus238 ft 7 in
  6. 06 RocScaled Composites238 ft
  7. 07 E-4 NightwatchBoeing231 ft 4 in
  8. 08An-124 RuslanAntonov227 ft
  9. 09 A350Airbus219 ft 2 in
  10. 10Tu-144Tupolev215 ft 7 in

Biggest Load

Maximum takeoff weight - airframe, fuel and payload combined.

  1. An-225 MriyaAn-225 MriyaAntonov1,410,958 lb MTOW
  2. 02 RocScaled Composites1,300,000 lb MTOW
  3. 03 A380Airbus1,267,658 lb MTOW
  4. 04 747Boeing975,000 lb MTOW
  5. 05An-124 RuslanAntonov886,258 lb MTOW
  6. 06 C-5 GalaxyLockheed840,000 lb MTOW
  7. 07 E-4 NightwatchBoeing833,000 lb MTOW
  8. 08 777Boeing775,000 lb MTOW
  9. 09 A350Airbus710,000 lb MTOW
  10. 10Tu-160 BlackjackTupolev606,271 lb MTOW

Most Built

Total airframes ever produced.

  1. 172 Skyhawk 172 SkyhawkCessna (Textron Aviation)44,000 built
  2. 02Bf 109Messerschmitt AG34,000 built
  3. 03 SpitfireSupermarine (Vickers-Armstrong)20,351 built
  4. 04 BonanzaBeechcraft (Textron Aviation)18,552 built
  5. 05An-2 ColtAntonov18,000 built
  6. 06 UH-1 IroquoisBell Helicopter16,000 built
  7. 07 P-51 MustangNorth American Aviation15,875 built
  8. 08 T-6 TexanNorth American Aviation15,495 built
  9. 09 Hawker HurricaneHawker Aircraft14,487 built
  10. 10 B-17 Flying FortressBoeing12,731 built

Rarest Aircraft

Fewest airframes ever built - the one-offs and short production runs.

  1. An-225 MriyaAn-225 MriyaAntonov1 built
  2. 02 Bird of PreyBoeing (Phantom Works)1 built
  3. 03 N-1MNorthrop Aircraft1 built
  4. 04 RocScaled Composites1 built
  5. 05Su-47 BerkutSukhoi1 built
  6. 06 V-173 Flying PancakeChance Vought (United Aircraft)1 built
  7. 07 Wright FlyerWright Cycle Company1 built
  8. 08 X-24Martin Marietta1 built
  9. 09 X-59Lockheed Martin1 built
  10. 10 XFY-1 PogoConvair1 built

Most Expensive

Approximate unit cost per aircraft.

  1. B-2 Spirit B-2 SpiritNorthrop Grumman$2.1B
  2. 02 B-21 RaiderNorthrop Grumman$692M
  3. 03 A380Airbus$445.6M
  4. 04 747Boeing$418.4M
  5. 05 777Boeing$375.5M
  6. 06 ConcordeAérospatiale / British Aircraft Corporation$350M
  7. 07 F-22 RaptorLockheed Martin$350M
  8. 08 A350Airbus$317.4M
  9. 09 B-1 LancerRockwell$317M
  10. 10 RocScaled Composites$298M

The Pioneers

Earliest first flights in the database.

  1. Wright Flyer Wright FlyerWright Cycle Company1903
  2. 02Blériot XIBlériot Aéronautique1909
  3. 03Gotha G.IVGothaer Waggonfabrik1916
  4. 04 Sopwith CamelSopwith Aviation Company1916
  5. 05Fokker Dr.IFokker-Flugzeugwerke1917
  6. 06LVG C.VILuft-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft (LVG)1917
  7. 07Ju 52Junkers1930
  8. 08 B-17 Flying FortressBoeing1935
  9. 09Bf 109Messerschmitt AG1935
  10. 10 DC-3Douglas Aircraft Company1935