The WindRunner aircraft, set to become the largest plane ever built, is designed to airlift giant wind turbine blades to remote energy sites, potentially transforming global renewable energy logistics.
A revolutionary aircraft dubbed ‘Skytanic’ the largest the world has ever seen is set to take flight within the next five years. The massive plane, named WindRunner, is being developed by Radia, a US-based energy company aiming to solve a major logistical challenge facing the renewable energy sector.
Radia’s ambitious venture involves designing a colossal aircraft measuring 108 metres in length—making it 38 metres longer than a Boeing 747 and capable of transporting up to 12 times more cargo. Spearheading this cutting-edge project is rocket scientist Mark Lundstrom, who is leading the engineering team behind what could become a historic feat in aerospace innovation.
The WindRunner is not intended for conventional cargo. Its primary purpose is to transport enormous wind turbine blades to remote or hard-to-reach sites—blades that are often so long and unwieldy they can only be carried one at a time.
Transporting wind turbine blades is currently a logistical ordeal due to their growing size. Some of these offshore blades already weigh up to 26,000 kilograms and stretch over 70 metres in length. As next-generation blades are expected to reach up to 100 metres, traditional road or rail transport is becoming increasingly impractical.
It takes a year and a half to plan a move of these things down a highway, explained Paul Hanna, Radia’s Vice-President of Marketing, in an interview. You’ve got road bridges to get underneath, traffic signs that need to come down, homes near off-ramps that may have to be moved
With some companies forced to build specially constructed roads for blade delivery, Radia believes the solution lies in the skies. Over the past decade, the company has been working quietly on the WindRunner, which will feature a cargo hold with a volume 12 times greater than that of a Boeing 747.
Once airborne, WindRunner will claim the title of the largest aircraft ever to fly—surpassing the Ukrainian-built Antonov An-225 Mriya, which was tragically destroyed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Despite its sheer size—standing 24 metres tall with a wingspan of 79 metres—the aircraft will be capable of carrying just one 105-metre blade or up to three 80-metre blades per flight. Lundstrom described the design as the “only viable solution” to the growing transport challenge in the renewable energy sector.
Radia, founded in 2016, has set a goal of launching operational flights by the end of the decade. The company hopes that by making large-scale wind farms more feasible, the aircraft will contribute to both economic and environmental goals.
Speaking to Aerospace, Hanna highlighted the potential benefits:
We have the opportunity to take a dramatic and lasting amount of CO₂ out of the atmosphere, and we’re giving the aerospace industry the opportunity to participate in reducing the cost of energy by as much as 30%
Addressing the World Economic Forum, Lundstrom emphasised the project’s environmental mission: “The necessity to fight climate change is something that’s a big motivating factor.”
It’s very unique to have an aerospace solution to climate change, as opposed to contributing to the problem. And so for an aerospace engineer or company to be able to apply their skills in the fight against climate change—rather than just optimising passenger seat miles or producing defence products—this is a unique opportunity.
It allows the aerospace industry to gain exposure to the energy sector while helping to remove significant percentages of CO₂ from the atmosphere,
In fact, experts estimate that the larger air carvers could increase the consistency of power generation by 20% compared to the terrestrial turbines of today. They could also scale back energy costs by as much up to 35%.This is an important development considering that wind accounted for 10% of the large-scale electricity generation in the US in 2022.
