What is the largest cargo plane. The largest cargo planes in the world
Ever since people learned to design flying vehicles, they began to be used to transport heavy and bulky cargo. Over the history of aeronautics, many transport aircraft have been created that impress with their enormous size. In today's selection we present to your attention the 11 largest cargo aircraft in the world.
11 PHOTOS
The An-225 is currently the largest aircraft in the world; it has an extremely large payload and can lift about 250 tons into the air. The An-225 was originally designed and built to transport components of the Energia launch vehicle and the Buran reusable spacecraft.
This transport aircraft is a modified version of the Boeing 747, it was built and used exclusively to transport parts of the Boeing 787 aircraft. What makes the Dreamlifter special is its unusual appearance.
The Super Guppy cargo plane was produced in five copies and today only one of them is in use. It is owned by NASA and is used to deliver large cargo and spacecraft parts.
The An-124 is a heavy military transport aircraft for long-distance transport, the largest of all serial commercial cargo aircraft in the world. It was designed primarily for air transport of intercontinental ballistic missile launchers, as well as for transporting heavy military equipment. The carrying capacity of the An-124 is 120 tons. Aircraft maintenance can only be carried out in a special hangar built for the company that owns the An-124 from metal structures (a similar principle http://ctcholding.kz/uslugi/bystrovozvodimye-zdaniya/iz-metallokonstruktsij/promyshlennye-zdaniya).
American military transport aircraft, second in terms of payload capacity after the An-124. The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is capable of carrying six helicopters or two large tanks in its cargo bay. The total weight that the aircraft can transport is more than 118 tons.
A jet cargo aircraft for transporting large cargo, which was developed on the basis of the Airbus A300 series. The main purpose of the A300-600ST is to replace the Super Guppy transport aircraft. Beluga owes its name to its body shape, which resembles a beluga whale. The Beluga's carrying capacity is 47 tons.
Soviet-made heavy transport aircraft, the largest turboprop aircraft in the world. Currently, the aircraft is used by the Russian Air Force and the Ukrainian cargo airline Antonov Airlines. The carrying capacity of the An-22 is 60 tons.
The C-17 Globemaster III is one of the most common military transport aircraft of the US Air Force and is still in use today. The aircraft is designed to transport military equipment and troops, as well as perform tactical missions. The C-17's carrying capacity is more than 76 tons.
The A400M Atlas was designed and built as an international project for the air forces of France, Germany, Italy, Great Britain and several other countries. It is a four-engine turboprop aircraft with a payload capacity of up to 37 tons. 
A twin-engine military transport aircraft of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, created as a replacement for the Kawasaki C-1 and Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft. The C-1's lifting capacity is 37 and a half tons.
An-225 "Mriya"
An-225 "Mriya" is the largest aircraft in the world, Ukrainian development of the Design Bureau named after. Antonov. The An-225 was included in the Guinness Book of Records for transporting the largest cargo in the history of aviation. The aircraft's carrying capacity is up to 250 tons! Currently, cargo transportation is carried out by only one An-225 aircraft, which is operated by the Ukrainian airline Antonov Airlines. So that you can imagine the true size of the giant, the unique Ukrainian aircraft can transport about 50 cars at a time.
Hughes H-4 Hercules
"Hercules" is an American-made flying boat; the first and only flight of the Hugbes H-4 was made back in 1947. Then the plane rose into the air to a height of 21 meters and flew over Los Angeles Harbor for about 2 kilometers. Subsequently, the project was frozen as unnecessary. Currently, the Hughes aircraft is an exhibit at the Evergreen International Aviation Museum, visited by 300 thousand tourists annually. The Hughes H-4 Hercules is the record holder for the wingspan of an aircraft - the Hercules has a wingspan of 98 meters, for your information, the An-225 has a wingspan of only 88 meters.
Super Guppy
Aero Spacelines Super Guppy is a transport aircraft based on the fuselage of the military Boeing C-97. The first flight of the unusual aircraft took place in 1965; one of the “Super Guppies” still serves for NASA. Super Guppy was also used by aviation giant Airbus to deliver large aircraft parts to final assembly sites. Subsequently, Airbus developed a new Beluga transport aircraft to replace the Guppy, which will be discussed a little later.
The aircraft's carrying capacity is almost 25 tons (10 times less than that of the An-225 Mriya), and its wingspan is 47.6 meters.
Airbus Beluga
Beluga replaced the Super Guppy, which could not cope with the increasing volumes of supplies of parts for aircraft. The base model for Airbus Beluga was the A300-600 fuselage. The Beluga's carrying capacity is approximately 47 tons, which allows Airbus to transport a pair of assembled Airbus A330 wings or most parts of the Airbus A319 airframe at a time. Airbus is currently working on developing a new transport aircraft based on the A340 that will transport A380 components.
Boeing 747 Dreamlifter
Dreamlifter got its name from the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The Boeing 747 Dreamlifter transport was developed by the Boeing concern specifically for transporting Dreamliner components. The 787 Dreamliner carrier began operating in 2007. The maximum lifting capacity of the Boeing Dreamlifter is about 180 tons.
Airbus A380
The A380 is the largest passenger aircraft in aviation history. I am sure that Airbus will hold the palm for a very long time, because Boeing is not interested in creating giant passenger airliners. Before the A380, the largest passenger aircraft was the Boeing 747 for 36 years. The Airbus A380 is capable of carrying up to 853 passengers in a single-class configuration; the wingspan of the largest passenger aircraft is 79 meters. At the beginning of 2011, Emirates, Lufthansa, Korean Air, Singapore Airlines, Qantas, Air France and China Southern Airlines operated 60 giant Airbus A380s.
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The list of maximum size aircraft includes both military cargo transporters and aircraft capable of carrying more than five hundred passengers. The leaders among them are the Airbus A380 and Boeing 747.
What models are on the list of the largest aircraft?
The list of the world's largest aircraft includes such giants as the An-225 and Airbus A380, Boeing 747 and An-22, ANT-20 and Airbus A340-600. All of them at one time became leaders in length or passenger capacity.The listed aircraft were created in different countries of the world, some of them are transport and cargo, some are created only for transporting passengers. The need for high-capacity aircraft is growing from year to year, which is associated with people’s desire to travel, get to know new countries, and discover new continents.
Hughes H-4 Hercules
Today, the aircraft with the largest wingspan is the Hughes H-4 Hercules. It was built in 1947 from wood. It was assumed that it would be capable of transporting at least seven hundred and fifty troops with full equipment. 
The height of this wooden giant is twenty-four meters, length is sixty-six meters and forty-five centimeters, with a wingspan of ninety-eight meters. Today the Hughes H-4 Hercules is located in Oregon and is a museum exhibit.
An-225
There is only one An-225 aircraft in the world. Its second name is “Mriya”. In the eighties, it was created in Ukraine for air transportation and is a cargo aircraft. Its maximum take-off weight is six hundred and forty tons. 
The dimensions of the Mriya are also striking. With a height of twenty-four meters, ten centimeters and a length of seventy-three meters, its wingspan is almost eighty-eight and a half meters. It is known that construction of a second such aircraft is underway.
Airbus A380
The leader among passenger aircraft in terms of capacity is the airliner called Airbus A380. Its creator is Airbus S.A.S. Passengers on this plane are accommodated on two decks. 
Being the largest among commercially produced airliners, this one is also the most economical in terms of fuel combustion. For a hundred kilometers of travel, fuel consumption for each passenger is only three liters.
An-124
The An-124 aircraft, also called “Ruslan”, is one of the largest cargo-lifting aircraft in the world. This giant is used as a military aircraft. The length of "Ruslan" is sixty-nine meters ten centimeters, the height is slightly more than twenty-one meters with a wingspan of seventy-three meters thirty centimeters.Lockheed C-5 Galaxy
Until 1982, the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy was considered the largest among mass-produced transport and cargo aircraft. It is used today by the US Army and is capable of transporting at least two hundred and seventy soldiers. 
This aircraft gains altitude up to ten kilometers and can cover a distance of five thousand six hundred kilometers without refueling. The maximum speed that the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy can reach is nine hundred and twenty kilometers.
Boeing 777-300ER
The record holder for the ability to fly without refueling is the Boeing 777-300ER, which can fly a distance of twenty-one thousand six hundred one kilometers. This passenger airliner was developed in 1990, and four years later it made its first test flight, and operation began in 1995.Among twin-engine jet passenger aircraft, the Boeing 777-300ER remains the largest. It can accommodate from three hundred five to five hundred fifty people on board.
Airbus A340-600
A large four-engine passenger aircraft is called the Airbus A340-600. It was created for intercontinental flights and could fly without additional refueling over a distance of fourteen thousand six hundred kilometers. 
The height of the liner is seventeen meters and thirty centimeters, the length is seventy-five meters and thirty centimeters, and the wingspan is sixty-three and a half meters.
Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 was considered the largest, most spacious and heaviest passenger airliner at the time of its creation. It held this record for thirty-seven years until it was overtaken by the Airbus A380. 
The Boeing 747 is also the record holder for the most common aircraft in the world. It is known that more than one and a half thousand such airliners were produced.
The largest passenger plane in the world
As you know, the most comfortable and fastest way to travel is by plane. For this reason, many modifications of passenger aircraft have been created. The largest among them for a long time remained the passenger Boeing 747, released in 1969. Initially, its capacity was four hundred and fifty-two passengers, and after modification it increased to five hundred and sixty-eight. 
In 2005, a new super-capacious large aircraft appeared - the Airbus A380. Surprisingly, its capacity is eight hundred and fifty-two passengers. They are located on two decks. The wingspan of this four-engine airliner is nearly eighty meters, height is twenty-four meters, and length is seventy-three meters. The weight of this “giant” is also surprising - without passengers it weighs almost two hundred and seventy-seven tons and is capable of flying fifteen thousand two hundred kilometers without stopping to refuel.
And the largest cargo plane is called An-225 Mriya. It was made in the USSR. .
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The An-225 Mriya airliner, the photo of which is located below, is the heaviest aircraft in terms of payload capacity that has ever taken off. Its maximum take-off weight is 640 tons. The creation of the model was associated with the need to build an air transport system for the needs of the reusable Soviet spacecraft Buran project. It should be noted that at the moment this exists in only one copy. All this will be discussed in more detail later.
Design order
In mid-1988, the government of the Soviet Union instructed the Antonov Design Bureau to develop a project and build a new aircraft. The main requirement that was put forward to it was the ability to transport the Buran spacecraft. In addition, the aircraft was planned to be used in such a field as transport aviation, where it would transport large equipment for the oil, construction and
Predecessor
In addition to all other requirements, the designers were faced with the task of reducing the cost of the new airliner as much as possible. In addition, it was necessary to reduce the construction time as much as possible. In this regard, they decided to take as a basis the design, as well as the main units and components, from another large model - the AN-124 "Ruslan". It should be noted that at that time she confidently topped the “Best Aircraft of Ukraine” rating (photo of the vessel is given below).
He made his first flight at the end of 1982. Its transport characteristics were among the best on the planet. A clear proof of this was the fact that after the appearance of Ruslan, some of the world's space companies began to actively refine their aircraft. This also applies to the Americans, who urgently began to improve their Lockheed project - the S-5A Galaxy.
Preliminary studies showed that this heavy transport aircraft, in terms of payload capacity, was capable of transporting the components of not only the Buran system, but even the oxygen and hydrogen tanks of the Energia rocket in docked form. On the other hand, due to its single-fin tail, external transportation of long cargo became impossible.
Key changes
The designers changed the design of the wings for the Mriya. Due to the addition of additional sections in the center, their scope has increased. The design of the wing mounts on the pylons remains the same, but their number has increased to six. If the cross-sectional size of the fuselage, compared to the previous modification, remained the same, then the overall length of the body has increased. In order to reduce weight, it was decided to eliminate the cargo rear hatch with all the devices intended for loading and unloading. To access the cargo compartment, the bow of the aircraft rises. In total, it takes about ten minutes to open or close the ramp. On the Ruslan model, five separate struts with paired wheels were installed, which were the main support for the landing gear; in the An-225, their number increased to seven. The tail unit was designed with two fins to enable the transportation of cargo outside the body.
Presentation
The An-225 Mriya aircraft was presented to the Soviet public by the general designer of the Antonov Bureau, P. V. Balabuev, on November 30, 1988. At the same time, engineers rolled out the airliner from the assembly shop for the first time. A few days later, the car performed its first maneuvers at the plant’s airfield, namely runs at speeds of up to 200 km/h, turns and landing gear lifts. On February 1, 1989, at the Boryspil airport, it was first shown to foreign experts and journalists.
First takeoff
Initially, the designers planned to make its debut takeoff on December 20, 1988. However, due to bad weather conditions (strong winds and low clouds), this event was postponed. The situation was similar the next day. Despite this, after a run of 950 meters, the ship easily took off from the ground and began to gain altitude. The first flight of the airliner lasted 1 hour and 14 minutes. The main thing that the designers of the An-225 “Mriya” wanted to determine during it was the characteristics of the ship’s control system, as well as the correctness and reliability of the functioning of the on-board equipment. In addition, engineers needed to clarify the aerodynamic corrections of the car. Based on the results of the flight, they came to the conclusion that all systems and components operate in full accordance with the calculated data. On December 28, 1988, the airliner performed another check flight.
Records
A very unusual flight of the Mriya aircraft (An-225) was scheduled for March 22, 1989. The liner provided all the prerequisites for breaking several world records. Many specialists - testers, designers, technicians, engineers and pilots - took an active part in the preparation for this event. After commission weighing of the cargo, whose mass was 156.3 tons, the filler necks of the fuel tanks were sealed. Then the ship took off without any problems, and 45 minutes later it landed successfully. During this short period of time, the An-225 Mriya broke 110 world records. The previous achievement of the American Boeing 747-400 in such an indicator as maximum take-off weight was exceeded by as much as 104 tons. Feedback from experts indicated that the An-225 has a great and bright future.
Fulfillment of the main goal
Be that as it may, setting world records was far from the main goal during the construction of the new product. As noted above, the aircraft was given the goal of external transportation of the Buran space complex. The airliner made its first flight with such a cargo on its back on May 13, 1989, when it delivered it to the Baikonur cosmodrome. The crew, headed by A. Galunenko, managed to test the controllability of the ship with the Buran on board, as well as measure fuel consumption and flight speed in various conditions. Ten days after this, the plane made a direct flight along the Baikonur-Kyiv route. In this case, a distance of 2,700 kilometers was covered in 4 hours and 25 minutes. A photo of the largest aircraft on the planet with Buran on board is shown below.
First commercial flight
The An-225 made its debut commercial flight in May 1990. Then the airliner transported a special T-800 tractor (its weight was more than 100 tons) from Chelyabinsk to Yakutia. After he landed at the airfield, he was immediately surrounded by an enthusiastic crowd. It should be noted that this expedition was far from accidental. It was of great importance not so much for the national economy of the country, but rather carried the goal of testing the transport capabilities of the aircraft in such difficult conditions as in the Arctic. Based on the results, the designers conducted a number of useful studies and made valuable conclusions.
Main characteristics
One of the main advantages of the Mriya aircraft (An-225) is its technical characteristics and flight data. The airliner is equipped with six, called D-18T. The weight of each of them exceeds four tons. Their total thrust is 1377 kN, which is an unprecedented value. During takeoff, each of them develops a power of 12,500 horsepower. The wingspan of this aircraft is 88.4 meters, while the area is 905 square meters. As for the dimensions, its length and height are 84 and 18.1 meters, respectively.
The cruising speed of the An-225 is set at 850 km/h. Provided the fuel tanks are fully filled, the vessel is capable of traveling 15 thousand kilometers when empty and 4.5 thousand kilometers with a maximum load. The airliner's payload is 250 tons. At the same time, it is capable of flying at altitudes of up to 11 thousand meters. As for the requirements for the runway, its minimum length must be 3 kilometers. The vehicle's fuel consumption is almost 16 tons per hour (assuming operation at cruising speed and with a full load).
Possibilities
The aircraft is capable of non-stop intracontinental transportation of cargo weighing up to 200 tons, as well as intercontinental transportation of cargo weighing up to 150 tons. Outside on the fuselage, the aircraft can transport large-sized elements that weigh up to 200 tons. The cargo compartment of the An-225 is quite roomy. In particular, 16 universal aviation containers UAK-10 (10 tons each), 50 passenger cars or monocargoes weighing up to 200 tons (dump trucks, generators, turbines, etc.) can easily be accommodated inside the fuselage. To carry out loading and unloading, the model is equipped with a whole complex, which includes four lifting mechanisms with a lifting capacity of five tons. In addition, the ship's designers provided two winches.
Crew
The An-225 Mriya aircraft is controlled by a crew of six people. In order to facilitate access to the cockpit, the seats of the first and second pilots are equipped with a whole system of adjustments and are capable of rotating. Behind them is the workstation of a navigation and communications specialist. On the right side of the cockpit are the seats for the on-board engineers. It should be noted that there is room inside the airliner for a reserve crew. The main cabin has a total of six seats, and the auxiliary cabin has twelve seats. In order to become a crew commander of this aircraft, the pilot must have at least five years of experience in driving the An-124 “Ruslan” model.
Avionics
The avionics of the An-225 Mriya model includes an automatic flight performance control system, as well as a display with a dynamic map. At the same time, electronic monitors, which are designed for electronic control, are absent here. The nose compartment is divided into two dielectric zones. They are designed to provide protection to the ground navigation radar as well as the forward looking radar system. The altitude indicator and attitude indicator act as backup instruments here. In addition, the cockpit has a fuel lever position indicator, power plant thrust indicators, and deviation sensors for takeoff and landing devices and control surfaces.
Renaissance
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the world's largest aircraft turned out to be of no use to anyone. In 1994, its flights were stopped. Moreover, the engines and other equipment were completely removed from it for the purpose of further use in the Ruslans. Be that as it may, every year the need to resuscitate the project called “Mriya” was felt more and more: large aircraft from other leading world manufacturers were unable to cope with the tasks that only the An-225 model could do. As a result, the designers modified the aircraft to ensure it complies with existing standards in civil aviation.
May 7, 2001 is considered the second birthday of “Mriya”. It was then, after a series of runs, turns and tests, that the plane took off again. On board it was marked UR-82060, and the crew was headed by pilot A.V. Galunenko. The car spent about fifteen minutes in the air, after which it landed safely. On May 23, 2011, the ship received all the necessary certificates, including international ones. This allows it to be used for commercial transportation of goods.
Second copy
From the very beginning of the construction of the An-225 Mriya aircraft, it was planned to create two copies of it. Despite this, the second car was never completed. The reason for this was the lack of proper funding for the project. Currently it is located on the territory of the Antonov plant. Experts estimate the overall degree of its readiness at 70 percent. More specifically, the fuselage, one wing and the center section have remained from Soviet times. According to the designers, it is quite possible to complete this machine, but this requires a sum of money amounting to about 150 million US dollars. This is only possible when a customer or sponsor appears.
Some features of the Mriya aircraft
In order to ensure safety during flight, the center of gravity of this loaded airliner must be placed along its length within certain limits. In this regard, loading is carried out in accordance with the instructions. It is the responsibility of the co-pilot to ensure that this process is correct. It is impossible to use a carrier from other manufacturers to transport this vessel, so your own copy of this device is transported on board. This is a heavy transport aircraft; due to the enormous weight of the vehicle, marks from the landing gear always remain on the asphalt. Moreover, the cost of one of their tires starts at one thousand US dollars.
The An-225 Mriya (translated from Ukrainian as “dream”) is the heaviest cargo-lifting aircraft ever taken into the air. The maximum take-off weight of the aircraft is 640 tons. The reason for the construction of the An-225 was the need to create an aviation transport system for the Soviet reusable spacecraft Buran project. The plane exists in a single copy.
The aircraft was designed in the USSR and built in 1988 at the Kiev Mechanical Plant.
"Mriya" set a world record for take-off weight and carrying capacity. On March 22, 1989, the An-225 flew with a load of 156.3 tons, thereby simultaneously breaking 110 world aviation records, which is a record in itself.
Since the start of operation, the aircraft has flown 3,740 hours. If we assume that the average flight speed (taking into account take-off, climb, cruising, descent, approach) is about 500 km/h, then we can calculate the approximate value of the kilometers traveled: 500 x 3740 = 1,870,000 km (more than 46 revolutions around the Earth along the equator).
The scale of the An-225 is amazing: the length of the aircraft is 84 meters, the height is 18 meters (like a 6-story 4-entrance house)
A visual comparison of the Mriya and the passenger Boeing 747.
If we take the largest of the Boeing 747-800 as a basis, then the length of the An-225 will be 8 meters longer, and the wingspan will be 20 meters longer.
Compared to the Airbus A380, the Mriya is 11 meters longer, and its wingspan is almost 9 meters longer.
It happens that the airport does not have adequate parking for such a large aircraft, and it is parked directly on the runway.
Of course, we are talking about an alternate runway, if the airport has one.
The wingspan is 88.4 meters and the area is 905 m²
The only aircraft superior to the An-225 in terms of wingspan is the Hughes H-4 Hercules, which belongs to the class of flying boats. The ship took off only once, in 1947. The history of this aircraft was reflected in the film "The Aviator"
Since the Buran spacecraft itself and the blocks of the Energia launch vehicle had dimensions exceeding the dimensions of the Mriya’s cargo compartment, the new aircraft provided for securing cargo from the outside. In addition, it was planned that the aircraft would be used as the first stage for the launch of a spacecraft.
The formation of a wake from a large cargo attached to the top of the aircraft required the installation of a double-finned tail unit to avoid aerodynamic shading.
The aircraft is equipped with 6 D-18T engines.
At takeoff mode, each engine develops a thrust of 23.4 tons (or 230 kN), i.e. the total thrust of all 6 engines is 140.5 tons (1380 kN)
It can be assumed that each engine develops about 12,500 horsepower at takeoff!
The D-18T engines of the An-225 aircraft are the same as those on the An-124 Ruslan.
The height of such an engine is 3 m, width 2.8 m, and weight more than 4 tons.
The starting system is air, with electrical automatic control. The auxiliary power unit, consisting of two TA-12 turbo units installed in the left and right fairings of the chassis, provides autonomous power to all systems and engine starting.
The mass of fuel in the tanks is 365 tons, it is placed in 13 wing caisson tanks.
The aircraft can remain in the air for 18 hours and cover a distance of over 15,000 km.
The refueling time for such a vehicle ranges from half an hour to a day and a half, and the number of tankers depends on their capacity (from 5 to 50 tons), i.e. from 7 to 70 tankers.
The aircraft's fuel consumption is 15.9 tons/h (in cruising mode)
When fully loaded, the aircraft can remain in the sky without refueling for no more than 2 hours.
The chassis includes a two-post nose and 14-post main (7 posts on each side) supports.
Each stand has two wheels. Total 32 wheels.
Wheels require replacement every 90 landings.
Tires for Mriya are produced at the Yaroslavl Tire Plant. The price of one tire is about $1000.
On the bow strut there are wheels measuring 1120 x 450 mm, and on the main strut there are wheels measuring 1270 x 510 mm.
The pressure inside is 12 atmospheres.
Since 2001, the An-225 has been performing commercial cargo transportation as part of Antonov Airlines.
Dimensions of the cargo compartment: length - 43 m, width - 6.4 m, height - 4.4 m.
The cargo cabin of the aircraft is sealed, which allows the transportation of various types of cargo. Inside the cabin you can place 16 standard containers, up to 80 cars and even heavy-duty BelAZ dump trucks. There is enough space here to fit the entire body of a Boeing 737.
Access to the cargo compartment is through the nose of the aircraft, which folds up.
The process of opening/closing the cargo compartment ramp takes no more than 10 minutes.
To unfold the ramp, the aircraft performs the so-called “elephant bow.”
The nose landing gear tilts forward, and the weight of the aircraft is transferred to auxiliary supports, which are installed under the front threshold of the cargo compartment.
Auxiliary support.
Control panel for the aircraft's "squat" system.
This loading method has a number of advantages compared to the Boeing 747 (which is loaded through a compartment in the side of the fuselage.
"Mriya" is a record holder for the weight of cargo transported: commercial - 247 tons (which is four times more than the maximum payload of a Boeing 747), commercial monocargo - 187.6 tons, and an absolute record for carrying capacity - 253.8 tons. On June 10, 2010, the longest cargo in the history of air transportation was transported - two windmill blades, each 42.1 m long.
To ensure a safe flight, the center of gravity of an aircraft with cargo must be within certain limits along its length. The load master performs loading in strict accordance with the instructions, after which the co-pilot checks the correct placement of the cargo and reports this to the crew commander, who makes a decision on the possibility of carrying out the flight and is responsible for this.
The aircraft is equipped with an on-board loading complex consisting of four lifting mechanisms, each with a lifting capacity of 5 tons.
In addition, two floor winches are provided for loading non-self-propelled wheeled vehicles and cargo on the loading ramp.
This time, the An-225 was chartered by the French engineering company Alstom to transport 170 tons of cargo from Zurich, Switzerland to Bahrain with refueling in Athens and Cairo.
This is a turbine rotor, a turbogenerator for producing electricity and components.
Flight manager Vadim Nikolaevich Deniskov.
To tow the An-225 aircraft, it is impossible to use the carrier of aircraft from other companies, so the carrier is transported on board the aircraft.
And since the aircraft is not equipped with a rear cargo hatch and the towing carrier is unloaded and loaded through the front cargo hatch, which requires a full cycle of squatting of the aircraft onto the front support, as a result, at least 30 minutes are lost and the resource of the aircraft structure and squatting system is unjustifiably consumed.
Technician-foreman for aircraft maintenance.
To ensure turns when the aircraft moves on the ground, the last four rows of the main support struts are made orientable.
Aircraft maintenance technician: specialization: hydraulic system and landing gear.
The heavy weight of the aircraft causes the landing gear to leave marks on the asphalt.
Ladder and hatch to the cockpit.
The passenger compartment is divided into 2 parts: in the front there is the aircraft crew, and in the rear there are accompanying and maintenance personnel.
The cabins are sealed separately - they are separated by a wing.
The rear part of the accompanying cabin is intended for eating, working with technical documentation and holding conferences.
The aircraft has 18 seats for rest of crew members and members of the engineering and technical team - 6 seats in the front cabin and 12 in the rear.
Staircase and hatch to the attendant cabin at the rear of the aircraft.
Technical compartment located at the rear of the cockpit.
On the shelves you can see the blocks that ensure the operation of various aircraft systems, and the pipelines of the pressurization and air conditioning system and the anti-icing system. All aircraft systems are highly automated and require minimal crew intervention during operation. Their work is supported by 34 on-board computers.
Wall of the front center section spar. It is installed (from top to bottom): the slats transmission and air bleed pipelines from the engines.
In front of it are stationary cylinders of the fire protection system with the fire extinguishing agent "Freon".
Stickers are souvenirs from numerous visitors on the panel on the plane's emergency exit hatch flap.
The farthest point from the base airport that the plane managed to visit was the island of Tahiti, part of French Polynesia.
The distance along the shortest arc of the globe is about 16,400 km.
Rynda An-225
Vladimir Vladimirovich Mason mentioned in the engraving is an aircraft operation engineer who worked at Mriya for many years.
The aircraft commander (PIC) is Vladimir Yuryevich Mosin.
To become an An-225 commander, you must have at least 5 years of experience flying an An-124 aircraft as a commander.
Weight and alignment control is simplified by installing a load-measuring system on the chassis.
The aircraft crew consists of 6 people:
aircraft commander, co-pilot, navigator, senior flight engineer, aviation equipment flight engineer, flight radio operator.
To reduce efforts on the throttles and increase the accuracy of setting engine operating modes, a remote engine control system is provided. In this case, the pilot makes a relatively small effort to use cables to move the lever of an electromechanical device mounted on the engine, which reproduces this movement on the fuel regulator lever with the necessary force and accuracy. For the convenience of joint control during takeoff and landing, the throttle levers of the outermost engines (RUD1 and RUD6) are linked, respectively, with RUD2 and RUD5.
The helm of the largest aircraft in the world.
Aircraft control is booster i.e. The control surfaces are deflected solely with the help of hydraulic steering actuators, if they fail, it is impossible to control the aircraft manually (with an increase in the required effort). Therefore, quadruple redundancy was applied. The mechanical part of the control system (from the steering wheel and pedals to hydraulic steering actuators) consists of rigid rods and cables.
The total length of these cables is: the aileron control system in the fuselage - about 30 meters, in each console (left, right) of the wing - approximately 35 meters; elevator and rudder control systems - about 65 meters each.
When the plane is empty, 2400 m of runway is enough for takeoff and landing.
Takeoff with maximum weight - 3500 m, landing with maximum weight - 3300 m.
At the executive start, the engines begin to warm up, which takes about 10 minutes.
This prevents engine surge during takeoff and ensures maximum takeoff thrust. Of course, this requirement leads to the fact that: takeoff is carried out during a period of minimal airport congestion, or the plane waits a long time for its turn to take off, missing scheduled flights.
The take-off and landing speed depends on the take-off and landing weight of the aircraft and ranges from 240 km/h to 280 km/h.
The climb is carried out at a speed of 560 km/h, with a vertical speed of 8 m/s.
At an altitude of 7100 meters, the speed increases to 675 km/h with further continuation of the climb to the flight level.
Cruising speed of An-225 - 850 km/h
When calculating cruising speed, the weight of the aircraft and the flight range that the aircraft must cover are taken into account.
Dmitry Viktorovich Antonov - senior captain.
The middle panel of the pilots' instrument panel.
Backup instruments: attitude indicator and altitude indicator. Fuel lever position indicator (FLU), engine thrust indicator (ET). Indicators of deviation of control surfaces and take-off and landing devices (slats, flaps, spoilers).
The senior flight engineer's instrument panel.
In the lower left corner there is a side panel with controls for the hydraulic complex and a chassis position alarm. Top left panel of the aircraft fire protection system. At the top right is a panel with controls and control devices: starting the APU, the supercharging and air conditioning system, the anti-icing system and the signal panel block. At the bottom is a panel with controls and controls for the fuel supply system, engine operation control and the on-board automated control system (BASK) of all aircraft parameters.
Senior onboard engineer - Polishchuk Alexander Nikolaevich.
Engine control instrument panel.
On the left, at the top is a vertical indicator of the position of the fuel levers. Large round instruments are speed indicators for the high-pressure compressor and engine fan. Small round instruments are indicators of oil temperature at the engine inlet. The block of vertical instruments at the bottom - indicators of the amount of oil in the engine oil tanks.
Aeronautical engineer's dashboard.
Controls and monitoring devices for the aircraft's power supply system and oxygen system are located here.
Navigator - Anatoly Binyatovich Abdullaev.
Flight over the territory of Greece.
Navigator-instructor - Yaroslav Ivanovich Koshitsky.
Flight operator - Gennady Yurievich Antipov.
The ICAO call sign for the An-225 on the flight from Zurich to Athens was ADB-3038.
On-board engineer - Yuri Anatolyevich Mindar.
Athens airport runway.
Landing at night on Mriya is carried out instrumentally, i.e. using instruments, from the leveling height and before touching down - visually. According to the crew, one of the most difficult landings is in Kabul, which involves high mountains and many obstacles. The approach begins at a speed of 340 km/h to an altitude of 200 meters, then the speed is gradually reduced.
Landing is carried out at a speed of 295 km/h with fully extended mechanization. It is allowed to touch the runway at a vertical speed of 6 m/s. After touching the runway, reverse thrust is immediately switched on engines 2 to 5, while engines 1 and 6 are left at idle. The landing gear is braked at a speed of 140-150 km/h until the aircraft comes to a complete stop.
The aircraft's service life is 8,000 flight hours, 2,000 takeoffs and landings, 25 calendar years.
The aircraft can still fly until December 21, 2013 (25 years since the start of its operation), after which a thorough study of its technical condition will be carried out and the necessary work will be carried out to ensure an extension of the calendar service life to 45 years.
Due to the high cost of transportation on the An-225, orders appear only for very long and very heavy cargo, when transportation by land is not possible. Flights are random: from 2-3 per month to 1-2 per year. From time to time there is talk about building a second copy of the An-225 aircraft, but this requires an appropriate order and appropriate funding. To complete the construction, an amount of approximately $90 million is required, and taking into account testing, it increases to $120 million.
This is perhaps one of the most beautiful and impressive aircraft in the world.
Thanks to Antonov Airlines for their help in organizing the photography!
Special thanks to Vadim Nikolaevich Deniskov for his help in writing the text for the post!