The Antonov An-225 Mriya

The Antonov An-225 Mriya is a strategic airlift cargo aircraft, designed by the Antonov Design Bureau in the 1980s. It is the world\’s heaviest fixed-wing aircraft. The design, built to transport the Buran orbiter, was an enlargement of the successful An-124 Ruslan.

Specifications:

• Wingspan: 88.4 m (290 ft 2 in)
• Length: 84 m. (275 ft 6 in)
• Height: 18.1 m (59 ft 3 in)
• Empty weight: 285,000 kg (628,317 lb)
• (Max. take-off weight: 600,000 kg (1,322,773 lb)
• Payload: 250,000 kg (550,000 lb)
• Range: 4,000 km (2,160 nm)
• Cruise speed: 850 km/h (460 kts)
• Engines: 4 ZMKB Progress D-18 turbofans, 229 kN (51,600 lb). 
• Crew: 6

The An-225 first flew on 21 December 1988. The aircraft was on static display at the Paris Air Show in 1989 and it flew during the public days at the Farnborough air show in 1990. Two aircraft were ordered, but only one An-225 (tail number UR-82060) was finished. It can carry ultra-heavy and oversize freight, up to 250,000 kg (550,000 lb) internally,or 200,000 kg (440,000 lb) on the upper fuselage. Cargo on the upper fuselage can be 70 metres (230 ft) long.

A second An-225 was partially built during the late 1980s for the Soviet space program. The second An-225 included a rear cargo door and a redesigned tail with a single vertical stabilizer. It was planned to be more effective for cargo transportation.Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the cancellation of the Buran space program, the lone operational An-225 was placed in storage in 1994.The six Ivchenko Progress engines were removed for use on An-124s, and the second uncompleted An-225 airframe was also stored. The first An-225 was later re-engined and put into service.

By 2000, the need for additional An-225 capacity had become apparent, so the decision was made in September 2006 to complete the second An-225. The second airframe was scheduled for completion around 2008,then delayed. By August 2009, the aircraft had not been completed and work had been abandoned.

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