Paul Rowbotham
on 4th February 2021
VALIUS VENCKUNAS
Spaceport, airliner, Putin’s plane: past ideas for second An-225 Mriya
The An-225 Mriya is unique in many aspects: it is the heaviest and arguably the largest operating aircraft in the world, it holds hundreds of records thanks to its immense cargo capacity, and exists only in the form of a single aircraft.
It was never meant to be mass-produced, itself being a greatly enlarged version of the Antonov An-124 Ruslan. Intended as a spacecraft carrier for the Soviet space program, Mriya was resurrected as a freighter for extra-large cargo in late 1990s, and currently is the flagship of Antonov Airlines.
Since its refurbishment, the plane has been transporting massive wind turbines, train carriages, battle tanks, and other oversized objects across the globe. In the process, it gathered a no-small cult following among aviation enthusiasts, who flock in their thousands to whichever airport’s runway the massive Mriya intends to grace with its presence.
There is also a fact which is not so well known to the wide public, but no doubt occupies an important place in the heart of each of those enthusiasts: the second An-225.
A sister plane to Mriya has been in the works since the completion of the first one. According to the memoir by Anatoly Vovnyanko, one of the engineers who worked on the plane, it was never supposed to be flyable, intended for static experiments only. Its massive titanium fuselage was completed, but barely anything else was done, as the assembly completely stopped in the early 90s...go to article
Antonov An-225 Mriya: Details
No comments:
Post a Comment