Aviation Naval Warfare Land Systems Small Arms By Flag By Year By Tag

Antonov An-225 Mriya (Cossack)

History of Antonov An-225 Mriya (Cossack)

Antonov An-225 "Mriya" (meaning "dream") (NATO: "Cossack") was one of the largest and heaviest aircraft ever built, beating even the legendary Hughes H-4 Hercules ("Cossack") Spruce Goose") 1940s. The An-225 is longer than the Airbus A380 and Boeing 747, while the wingspan is about 17.7 meters shorter than the Hughes aircraft. The An-225 is based on Antonov's other heavy transport aircraft, the An-124 (NATO: "Condor"), classified as a strategic cargo transport aircraft. Only one airframe was completed, although two were originally ordered and served in the Soviet space shuttle program in early form.

Undoubtedly, the Mriya is an engineering marvel by aviation standards of the past and the future, and despite such a massive design, the An-225 has also been criticized for its maintenance requirements and long-term operating costs, far more than notorious. The An-225 made its maiden flight on December 21, 1988, and entered service the following year.

As the two aircraft are based on the An-124, they have obvious external design similarities. However, the An-225 was specifically designed to carry heavy items, including the rocket boosters of the Soviet space shuttle - dubbed "Blizzard" - a role once filled by the large Myasushchev VM-T transport aircraft in the 1980s. As a result, the An-225 was fitted with 6 large turbofans, more than the 4 of the An-124. Each engine in the ZMKB Progress D-18 family is rated at 51,600 pounds of thrust and provides the necessary lift and transport capabilities required by heavy aircraft. Like other transport aircraft in this class, the An-225 features a high-mounted flight deck facing the short nose cone assembly, a deep tubular fuselage and wide-span swept wings mounted high on the sides of the fuselage.

The wing exhibits a pronounced facelessness in the forward profile and is designed with a high degree of flexibility, a requirement for long-span components. The aircraft is also equipped with a raised tail with a distinctive large-span horizontal tail, terminated at each end by the necessary vertical tail.

Each of the six engines is mounted on the lower suspension pod, three on each wing. The elevated wing ensures that ground movement clearances are addressed.

The landing gear is retractable in the traditional sense, although the main legs consist of seven twin-wheeled, highly reinforced struts on either side of the fuselage to control the plane's displacement when at rest. Interestingly, there is no rear access ramp for loading and unloading cargo.

Instead, the An-225 uses a foldable nose cone that can be opened to reveal the cargo space inside.

The completed fuselage was first shown to the west at the 1989 Paris Air Show and observed in flight during the 1990 Farnborough Air Show. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the aircraft was taken out of service and put into storage in 1994, when its engines were repaired pending the An-124 airframe. Therefore, the Blizzard shuttle program was discontinued at that time.

The second An-225, which has now begun construction, has also been temporarily retired. It was only later, when the aircraft fell into the hands of the Ukrainian government after the collapse of the Soviet Union, that the original An-225 was re-engined and returned to operating condition.

As a means of transport, the An-225 did not disappoint, as it had a cargo volume of 1300 cubic meters and could carry hundreds of tons of "excessive" cargo. The sheer portability of the aircraft has set a world record for Antonov products, and the aircraft has transported thousands of pallets worth of food and supplies, industrial-scale vehicles (including four main battle tanks and trucks), wind turbines And generators, whose future potential is yet to be written about. The An-225 has been working with Western nations to support humanitarian, civil and military operations around the world a sight unimaginable at the height of the Cold War. The only An-225 in service is managed by Antonov Airlines - a freight forwarder for the cargo market with a fleet size of 22 aircraft (2012).

This large aircraft requires a standard crew of 6 to 7 people.

A second scheduled An-225 is still under construction, although this is believed to be well above the mid-range. Of course, the cost makes the plane complete the long and arduous road, which may or may not be done.

Notable in the second example is the redesigned tail that uses a single vertical rear wing and has a rear loading ramp accessible via a power door.

September 2016 - Antonov announced the completion of the second An-225 prototype in cooperation with China's AVIC. The first flight is planned for 2019. This experience should bode well for China's future large aircraft -- especially transports and bombers.