zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Beyond Cars
/
The World's Widest Plane Just Aced Its Second Test Flight
The World's Widest Plane Just Aced Its Second Test Flight-July 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:13:58

Remember the giant ? It’s been a couple of years since it last took flight in 2019. The world’s largest plane, thanks to its 385-foot wingspan, finally made its second test flight on Thursday, reports

Roc now has two test flights under its very long wings and this test had the plane in the sky for a whole three hours and 14 minutes. The twin fuselage aircraft reached an altitude of about 14,000 feet and about 173 knots (200 mph). The YouTube channel caught the flight in action and it looks majestic:

The Roc looks like it’s barely moving in its passes of the runway.

For a quick refresher, its 385-foot wingspan makes it the largest plane in the world by wingspan. Check it out compared to other colossal planes:

Image for article titled The World's Widest Plane Just Aced Its Second Test Flight

Why has it taken so long to get a second flight? As reports, Stratolaunch’s owner, Microsoft co-Founder Paul Allen, sold the venture to none other than , Cerberus Capital Management.

The plane now serves a new role, too. Stratolaunch wanted to use the aircraft for launch services, but now it’s serving as a launch platform for Stratolaunch’s own hypersonic vehicle (a vehicle that can travel at least five times the speed of sound) projects.

One of those hypersonic vehicles is the Talon-A. This reusable craft measures in at 28-feet long and is development simultaneously with the plane.

Image for article titled The World's Widest Plane Just Aced Its Second Test Flight

In 2022, Stratolaunch hopes to conduct a test to confirm that the Talon-A can be released from the Roc carrier plane. After that, it hopes to eventually get the Talon-A in some powered tests to get it to hypersonic speeds.

The Roc carrier plane itself got some nice upgrades during its two year hiatus. Roc uses systems adapted from a Boeing 747-400 like its engines, landing gear and flight deck. It now has a new environmental control system, more instruments and improvements to the flight control system to make it handle better.

Daniel Millman, chief technical officer of Stratolaunch, says that this second flight is only the beginning, and more flights are to come.

As if Stratolaunch wasn’t busy enough, it also plans on offering up its system to the Department of Defense to help reduce risk in flight testing. It’s going to be interesting to see how this plane gets used now that it under new ownership, but for now, it’s just amazing to watch.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Beyond Cars
Marshmallow Treats Ended Up On The Royal Air Force's No-Fly List
Marshmallow Treats Ended Up On The Royal Air Force's No-Fly List
Over in the United Kingdom, there’s a certain dessert known as a “teacake” — or, as a British friend kindly informed me, it’s more accurately known as a “Tunnock” in Scotland. Basically, the food in question for this particular story are actually a cookie base topped with marshmallow, coated...
Jul 29, 2025
String Of Boeing Failures Continues With 737-800 Flight Turning Back With Cracked Cockpit Windshield
String Of Boeing Failures Continues With 737-800 Flight Turning Back With Cracked Cockpit Windshield
In the wake of recent major , including , , and the debacle that was , it isn’t a good time for further failures by the company. that would , an unrelated 737-800 with a cracked windshield, became international news this weekend. The flight took off from Sapporo-New Chitose...
Jul 29, 2025
2023 Zero DSR/X: The Bike Of The Future, But Not Our Future
2023 Zero DSR/X: The Bike Of The Future, But Not Our Future
The world, in 2023, is cyberpunk. We’ve got the , the , and the that keeps the and the . But in cyberpunk media, people are always riding . Why are we stuck with the same bikes we’ve always had? , it seems, wants to address this grievous wrong....
Jul 29, 2025
Deadliest Train In America Kills 3 People In 2 Separate Collisions At The Same Crossing
Deadliest Train In America Kills 3 People In 2 Separate Collisions At The Same Crossing
operate between Orlando and Miami and hold the unwelcome distinction of being both the first intra-city high speed rail in the U.S. and the , by far. After three people died at a single grade crossing in two separate incidents last week it seems the feds are finally perking...
Jul 29, 2025
Aircraft Touch Tips During Blizzard At Japanese Airport
Aircraft Touch Tips During Blizzard At Japanese Airport
As at , its port side wing the starboard vertical stabilizer of bound for Hong Kong. This comes at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, and . “Our aircraft, which was stationary at the time with no customers nor crew onboard, was struck by a Korean Air A330 which was taxiing past,”...
Jul 29, 2025
Crystal Chunks Are Bursting Through The Road In China
Crystal Chunks Are Bursting Through The Road In China
A video of what looks like quartz breaking through the surface of a is making the rounds on . I don’t get over there much, being suspicious of the Chinese over concerns of it spying on its users, as the reports. OK, fine. Actually, I just don’t get the humor...
Jul 29, 2025
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved