NASA's Super Guppy hauls giant cargo ranging from smaller airplanes to components destined for the International Space Station. Click through the gallery for more images of big planes.
Courtesy Paul Carter
Inside the Super Guppy —
The Super Guppy includes a hinged nose that opens at more than a 200-degree angle. Its cargo hold measures 25 feet high, 25 feet wide and 111 feet long. Maximum payload: more than 26 tons.
Courtesy Paul Carter
World's largest plane: Antonov Mriya —
The six-engine Antonov An-225 cargo jet is widely acknowledged as the largest plane in the world. It's been spotted recently in Houston, Texas, Moses Lake, Washington; and over Chicago.
Lance Cpl. Samantha H. Arrington/US Marine Corps
Boeing's 747 Dreamlifter —
A modified 747, the Dreamlifter was developed by Boeing to ferry giant aircraft assemblies for the 787 Dreamliner. Photographer Paul Carter caught it during takeoff from Paine Field in Everett, Washington.
Courtesy Paul Carter
The Pentagon's 'air freight terminal' —
Billed as the Pentagon's largest and busiest "air freight terminal," Delaware's Dover Air Force Base hosts the 436th Airlift "Eagle" Wing, which flies C-5 cargo jets and other aircraft to more than 100 countries around the globe.
Roland Balik/US AIR FORCE
The giants of Dover —
Dover's fleet includes the C-5M Super Galaxy, a four-engine, 65-foot-high behemoth that can tote quite a load: 270,000 pounds, to be exact. This thing has wings spanning 223 feet and 28 wheels to help it land smoothly. Its distinctive T-tail makes it easy to identify.
The C-5, seen here in Afghanistan, moves entire units of fighting forces and their battle machines such as helicopters, trucks and tanks around the world at jet speeds around 518 mph. Its nose opens the full width and height of the cargo bay for quick, easy loading.
Another giant airlift jet stationed at Dover is the C-17 Globemaster III. You can also find this titan at Air Force facilities in Alaska, Mississippi, Hawaii, California, Washington, South Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Oklahoma, according to the Air Force.
Jason Minto/US Air Force
The Globemaster cockpit —
Unlike the C-5, with its seven-member crew, the Globemaster III flies with a crew of three: a pilot, a co-pilot and a loadmaster.
2nd Lt. Nicole Langley/US Air Force
First deployed in 1993, the Globemaster III is among the Air Force's youngest airlift jets. Boeing is completing work on the final C-17, the Air Force says, which will be delivered later this year. The plane has been featured in Hollywood's "Transformers" and "Iron Man" films.
Measuring 250 feet, Boeing's 747-8 Intercontinental holds the title of world's longest passenger aircraft. Boeing makes them and tests them at its facility in Everett, Washington.
