Meet the WindRunner. At a jaw-dropping 365 feet long and 79 feet tall, it's a cargo plane unlike anything the world has seen before -- stretching 80 feet longer than the current champ, the Russian Antonov An-124. Also unlike other massive planes, this one is built to carry just one specific kind of cargo The world's largest wind turbine blades, which could be longer than a football field in coming years.
Specifically, to turn corners and fit under highway overpasses, blades for onshore turbines can't exceed 230 feet, according to Radia. That means that, today, the largest blades can only be employed in offshore wind farms. There, however, the high cost of building towers in the ocean is prompting many utilities to sour on the concept. The bad financials on sea and land have contributed to a wave of both offshore and onshore project cancellations, slashing a planned 8.