You have got it right. The biggest aircraft in the world took off for its first flight and, most importantly, successfully completed it on 13 April, 2019. It is the Stratolaunch Roc, the carbon-composite plane built by Stratolaunch Systems, founded in 2011 by Paul G. Allen.

The plane with “a dual fuselage design and wingspan greater than the length of an American football field”, achieved its historic milestone over the Mojave Desert in California in a flight which lasted for 2.5 hours at altitudes up to 17,000 feet.

In a statement the company pointed out that during the initial flight the following results were achieved:

• Performed a variety of flight control maneuvers to calibrate speed and test flight control systems, including roll doublets, yawing maneuvers, pushovers and pull-ups, and steady heading side slips.
• Conducted simulated landing approach exercises at a max altitude of 15,000 feet mean sea level.

What is Stratolaunch?

The Stratolaunch aircraft is a mobile launch platform the aim of which is to enable airline-style access to space that is convenient, affordable and routine. The reinforced center wing can support multiple launch vehicles, weighing up to a total of 500,000 pounds.