This here is proof that there is nothing too crazy to load into an airplane.
10.) An Orca
Free Willy! But, actually though. Keiko, the star of Free Willy was transported by air twice, first in a C-130 to an aquarium in Oregon, and then in a C-17 to Iceland where he was released. Faster than swimming, I guess.
Suggested By: , Photo Credit: Master Sgt. David Nolan
9.) An Eye Hospital
What do you do when you have an organization to prevent blindness in developing countries that lack the facilities to do so? Orbis International built a fully-functional hospital out of a DC-10.
Ambitious and brilliant.
Suggested By: As Du Volant/Jcarr, Photo Credit: Orbis
8.) Cows
Hey, cattle have go get from point A to point B somehow, and they're not terribly agile. As a warning, I should add that it is imperative that you not overstuff your plane with cows, since their collective body heat can set off smoke detectors.
Suggested By: Scott-R, Photo Credit: UDASK
7.) A V-22 Osprey
The V-22 Osprey is not what you'd call a small aircraft, but it's not to big it won't fit in a Super Guppy. Reader Sgt. Pegleg actually helped transport one!
Suggested By: Sgt. Pegleg, Photo Credit: Getty Images
6.) 200,000 lb. Of Dog Food Flavoring
Reader Green Pig actually works in the air freight industry and has moved some crazy shit, but not much crazier than 200,000 lb. of dog food flavoring that was sent France. It took eight 53' trailers, and an entire 747 to move it all.
200,000 lb. is a lot of anything to stick in a plane, let alone dog food flavoring.
Suggested By: Green Pig, Photo Credit: Aero Icarus
5.) A C-130 Fuselage
Yo dawg, I heard you like planes, so we put a plane in your plane, so you can plane while you plane. Or something like that. Transporting a C-130 fuselage in a C-5 took over two years of planning, and reader Denverslim helped design the ramps to load it:
"It was a super tight fit. They had to keep the C-130 from scraping the tail or belly, and keep the front from hitting the roof of the C-5. There was a different ramp extension for the nose wheel.
It was also a special C-5 that doesn't have the upper deck troop compartment. It took me almost an entire semester to design that puppy. I imagine some loadmaster somewhere built a beautiful deck after that."
Suggested By: TwinCharged - Hong Kong Jalop, Photo Credit: 109th Airlift Wing
4.) The Entire Dakar Rally
For the 2000 running of the Dakar, the race was under threats of a guerrilla assault in Niger, so the whole damn race including all the people and vehicles was airlifted to Libya where the race resumed. The move required three Antov An-124s, eighteen round trips, and $5 Million.
Suggested By: Phil_L, Photo Credit: AP Images
3.) A Giant Freaking Laser
What's the most badass way to deflect a missile? A giant laser, obviously. The Boeing YAL-1 (which was a modified 747) carried a giant laser onboard that would be shot out of that glowing orb thingy on the nose of the plane.
The project was (sadly) cancelled.
Suggested By: InsertBullets, Photo Credit: US Missile Defense Agency
2.) A Nuclear Reactor
How crazy was America post-WWII? Crazy enough to attempt to build a nuclear-powered plane, the Convair NB-36H, and yes, Russia tried as well with their Tupelov Tu-119.
Both programs were cancelled because of the rise of the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, and because people smartly realized that nuclear-powered flight was batshit insane.
Suggested By: Brian, The Life of, Photo Credit: USAF
1.) A 418,834 lb. Generator
The Antonov AN-225 is one of the largest things to ever fly, a feat made even more impressive by the fact that it once transported a 418,834 lb. generator, the largest single item ever transported by an aircraft.
Could you imagine sticking something that nearly weighs 420,000 lb. into an airplane? The crazy thing is that the Antonov can carry more. It's record is a 559,557 pound payload!
Suggested By: 4rdFan, Photo Credit: Chapman Freeborn
Welcome back to Answers of the Day - our daily Jalopnik feature where we take the best ten responses from the previous day's Question of the Day and shine it up to show off. It's by you and for you, the Jalopnik readers. Enjoy!
Top Photo Credit: 109th Airlift Wing
Contact the author of this post at chris@jalopnik.com.