The initial construction on the massive airplane Paul Allen has been quietly building in the California desert is complete, and the vehicle, which would be the world's largest airplane with a wingspan wider than Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose, was wheeled out of its hangar for the first time on Wednesday.

Called Stratolaunch, the plane has some impressive stats: a wingspan of 117 meters, or longer than a football field, a height of 15.24 meters. Unfueled, it weighs 227 tonnes. But it can carry 113 tonnes of fuel, and its total weight can reach as high as 590 tonnes.

But, really . . .. How big is it? It's so big that it has 28 wheels and six 747 jet engines. It's so big that it has 96.5 kilometers of wire coursing through it. It's so big that the county had to issue special construction permits just for the construction scaffolding.

It's so big that to truly get a sense of it, you have to see it from a distance - like a mountain.

Source: NZ Herald
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/technology/news/article.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=11867395