The four-engined ultra-large transport would stretch more than the length of a football field and have a wingspan of 500 feet--that’s 2.5 Arial the wing width of a Boeing 777--with a payload capacity of 1,400 cargo tons. Although initial sketches of the proposed aircraft look similar to Howard Hughes’ infamous Spruce Goose, the Pelican is not a seaplane. The aircraft would land and take off from conventional airport runways with the assistance of 38 double-wheeled landing gear to support the enormous weight.
To provide enough clearance on the ground, the outer half of each outer wing panel is designed to fold up. The angle of fold may vary from a minimal amount for takeoff and landing to up to 90 degrees for ground operations. Once airborne, the wing tips would fold down to their in-flight position and fold up again for landing.