Air

The Big Stuff series explores the origins and workings of some of the largest, most impressive machines and objects in the world. This volume, Giants of the Sky, looks at huge and powerful aircraft, providing simple basic information on physics, engineering, and design. Featured "giants" include the AN-124, a Russian-made cargo plane ("the largest aircraft ever built"), which is 67 meters long with a 73-meter wingspan; the S-64 Sky Crane, able to lift 25,000 pounds and capable of flying with 14 standard helicopters hanging from its lines; the Aircrane 5, a commercial rocket built in France that is over 50 meters tall, weighs 750 tons at liftoff, and is capable of carrying 20 tons into low-Earth orbit. The presentation also includes a segment on Chicago's O'Hare International Airport -- "the commercial aviation capital of the world" -- which covers 7,700 acres, can manage 162 aircraft at a time, and handles 180,000 passengers a day (67 million per year).