An 225 mriya dimensions. China and Mriya. Who owns the super plane? Records and interesting facts
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 payload. On March 22, 1989, the An-225 flew with a load of 156.3 tons, thus breaking 110 world aviation records at the same time, which is a record in itself.
Since the start of operation, the aircraft has flown 3740 hours. If we assume that the average speed of flights (taking into account takeoff, climb, cruise, descent, landing approach) is about 500 km / h, then we can calculate the approximate value of the distance traveled: 500 x 3740 \u003d 1,870,000 km (more than 46 orbits around the earth at 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-storey 4-entrance building)
Visual comparison of "Mriya" and passenger Boeing-747.
If we take as a basis the largest of the Boeing 747-800, 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, Mriya is 11 meters longer, and its wingspan exceeds it by almost 9 meters.
It happens that the airport does not have an appropriate parking lot 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 that surpasses the An-225 in terms of wingspan is the Hughes H-4 Hercules, which belongs to the class of flying boats. The ship took to the air only once in 1947. The history of this aircraft is reflected in the film "Aviator"
Since the Buran spacecraft itself and the blocks of the Energia launch vehicle had dimensions that exceeded the dimensions of the cargo compartment of the Mriya, 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 at the launch of the spacecraft.
The formation of a wake from a bulky cargo fixed on top of the aircraft required the tail unit to be fitted with two tails in order to avoid aerodynamic shading.
The aircraft is equipped with 6 D-18T engines.
In 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 in takeoff mode develops about 12,500 horsepower!
The D-18T engines of the An-225 aircraft are the same as those of the An-124 Ruslan.
The height of such an engine is 3 m, the width is 2.8 m, and the weight is more than 4 tons.
Starting system - air, with electric automatic control. An auxiliary power unit, consisting of two TA-12 turbine units installed in the left and right chassis fairings, provides autonomous power supply to all systems and engine start.
The mass of fuel in the tanks is 365 tons, it is placed in 13 wing caisson tanks.
The aircraft can stay in the air for 18 hours and cover a distance of over 15,000 km.
The refueling time of such a machine 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), that is, from 7 to 70 tankers.
The fuel consumption of the aircraft is 15.9 tons / h (in cruise mode)
When fully loaded, the aircraft can stay in the sky without refueling for no more than 2 hours.
The chassis includes a two-column bow and a 14-column main (7 struts on each side) supports.
Each rack has two wheels. A total of 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 stand there are wheels measuring 1120 x 450 mm, and on the main stand there are wheels measuring 1270 x 510 mm.
The pressure inside is 12 atmospheres.
Since 2001, An-225 has been performing commercial cargo transportation as part of Antonov Airlines.
Cargo cabin dimensions: length - 43 m, width - 6.4 m, height - 4.4 m.
The cargo compartment of the aircraft is sealed, which allows the transportation of various types of cargo. Inside the cabin, 16 standard containers, up to 80 cars and even heavy dump trucks of the BelAZ type can be placed. There is enough space to fit the entire body of a Boeing 737.
Access to the cargo compartment is through the nose of the aircraft, which leans up.
The process of opening / closing the ramp of the cargo compartment takes no more than 10 minutes.
To unfold the ramp, the aircraft performs the so-called "elephant bow".
The front landing gear tilts forward, and the weight of the aircraft is transferred to the auxiliary supports, which are installed under the front sill of the cargo compartment.
Auxiliary support.
Aircraft squat control panel.
This method of loading has a number of advantages in comparison with the Boeing 747 (loading on which is carried out through a compartment in the side of the fuselage.
Mriya holds the record for the weight of transported cargo: commercial - 247 tons (which is four times the maximum payload of the Boeing 747), commercial monocargo - 187.6 tons, and absolute record carrying capacity - 253.8 tons. On June 10, 2010, the longest cargo in the history of air transportation was transported - two windmill blades 42.1 m long each.
To ensure safe flight, the center of gravity of the aircraft with cargo must be within certain limits along its length. The load master performs the 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 decides on the possibility of flying and is responsible for this.
The aircraft is equipped with an onboard loading complex, consisting of four lifting mechanisms, each with a carrying capacity of 5 tons.
In addition, two floor winches are provided for loading non-self-propelled wheeled vehicles and cargo on the loading rack.
This time, the An-225 was chartered by the French engineering company Alstom to transport 170 tons of cargo from Swiss Zurich to Bahrain with refueling in Athens and Cairo.
These are a turbine rotor, a turbogenerator for the production of electricity and components.
Flight manager Vadim Nikolaevich Deniskov.
To tow the An-225 aircraft, it is impossible to use the carrier of aircraft of other companies, therefore 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 the aircraft on the front support, as a result, at least 30 minutes are lost and the resource of the aircraft structure and the squat system is unreasonably spent.
Aircraft Maintenance Technician.
To ensure turns when the aircraft moves along the ground, the last four rows of the main support struts are made orientable.
Aircraft maintenance technician: specialization "hydraulic system and landing gear".
The large weight of the aircraft leads to the fact that the landing gear leaves marks on the pavement.
Ladder and hatch to the cockpit.
The passenger compartment is divided into 2 parts: in the front there is the crew of the aircraft, and in the back - the accompanying and maintenance personnel.
Cabin sealing is separate - they are separated by a wing.
The rear part of the attendant's cabin is designed for eating, working with technical documentation and holding conferences.
The aircraft provides 18 seats for rest of crew members and members of the engineering team - 6 seats in the front cabin and 12 in the rear.
Ladder and hatch to the cabin of the attendants in the tail section 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.
The wall of the front spars of the center section. It is installed (from top to bottom): slat transmission and air bleed pipelines from engines.
In front of her are stationary cylinders of the fire protection system with Freon extinguishing agent.
Stickers - souvenirs from numerous visitors on the panel on the doors of the emergency escape hatch.
The farthest point from the base airport, which the aircraft managed to visit, is the island of Tahiti, which is 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 maintenance engineer who worked for Mriya for many years.
Aircraft commander (PIC) - Vladimir Yuryevich Mosin.
To become an An-225 commander, you must have at least 5 years of experience in flying an An-124 aircraft as a commander.
Weight and balance control is simplified by the installation of a weight measurement system on the chassis.
The crew of the aircraft consists of 6 people:
aircraft commander, co-pilot, navigator, senior flight engineer, aircraft equipment flight engineer, flight radio operator.
ORES
To reduce the effort on the throttles and improve the accuracy of setting the engine operating modes, a remote engine control system is provided. In this case, the pilot makes a relatively small effort to move the lever of an electromechanical device mounted on the engine with the help of cables, which reproduces this movement on the fuel regulator lever with the necessary effort and accuracy. For the convenience of joint control during takeoff and landing, the thrusters of the outer engines (THROTTLE1 and THROTTLE6) are coupled to the THROTTLE2 and THROTTLE5, respectively.
The steering wheel of the largest aircraft in the world.
Booster aircraft control i.e. control surfaces are deflected exclusively by means of hydraulic steering actuators, in case of failure of which it is impossible to control the aircraft manually (with an increase in the necessary efforts). Therefore, a quadruple redundancy has been applied. The mechanical part of the control system (from the steering wheel and pedals to hydraulic steering gears) consists of rigid rods and cables.
The total length of these cables is: aileron control systems 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.
With an empty plane, 2400 m of runway is enough for takeoff and landing.
Takeoff with a maximum weight of 3500 m, landing with a maximum weight of 3300 m.
At the executive start, the engines warm up, which takes about 10 minutes.
Thus, engine surge during takeoff is prevented and its maximum takeoff thrust is ensured. Undoubtedly, this requirement leads to the fact that: the takeoff is carried out during the period of minimum workload of the airport, or the plane waits a long time for its turn to take off, skipping scheduled flights.
The takeoff and landing speed depends on the takeoff and landing weight of the aircraft and ranges from 240 km/h to 280 km/h.
Climbing 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 a 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 PIC.
The middle panel of the dashboard of the pilots.
Backup instruments: artificial horizon and altitude indicator. Fuel lever position indicator (UPRT), engine thrust indicator (UT). Deviation indicators for control surfaces and take-off and landing devices (slats, flaps, spoilers).
The instrument panel of the senior flight engineer.
In the lower left corner there is a side panel with hydraulic complex controls and chassis position signaling. Top left panel of the aircraft fire protection system. At the top right is a panel with controls and instruments: starting the APU, pressurization and air conditioning systems, an anti-icing system and a block of signal displays. Below is a panel with controls and controls for the fuel supply system, engine operation control and an on-board automated control system (BASK) for all aircraft parameters.
Senior on-board engineer - Polishchuk Alexander Nikolaevich.
Engine control instrument panel.
On the left, at the top, a vertical indicator of the position of the fuel levers. Large round instruments - high pressure compressor and engine fan speed indicators. Small round instruments - oil temperature gauges at the engine inlet. A block of vertical instruments at the bottom - indicators of the amount of oil in the engine oil tanks.
Instrument panel of an aircraft equipment engineer.
Here are the controls and instruments for monitoring the power supply system of the aircraft and the oxygen system.
Navigator - Anatoly Binyatovich Abdullaev.
Flight over the territory of Greece.
Navigator-instructor - Yaroslav Ivanovich Koshytsky.
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 the "Mriya" is carried out instrumentally, that is, according to instruments, from the leveling height to the touch - visually. According to the crew, one of the most difficult landings is in Kabul, which is associated with high mountains and many obstacles. The approach is started at a speed of 340 km/h up to a height of 200 meters, then the speed is gradually reduced.
Landing is carried out at a speed of 295 km / h with fully released mechanization. It is allowed to touch the runway at a vertical speed of 6 m/s. After touching the runway, the reverse thrust is immediately shifted on engines 2 to 5, and 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.
Aircraft resource - 8000 flight hours, 2000 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 the 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 loads, when transportation by land transport 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 approximately equal to $ 90 million is required, and taking into account the testing, it increases to $ 120 million.
Perhaps this is one of the most beautiful and impressive aircraft in the world.
Thanks to "Antonov Airlines" for help in organizing photography!
Special thanks to Deniskov Vadim Nikolaevich for help in writing the text for the post!
For all questions regarding the use of photographs, write to e-mail.
Currently, there are a huge number of aircraft with special characteristics. These unique machines are mainly created for special projects or to test the performance of innovative designs and non-standard technical developments. A large number of such aircraft eventually do not receive mass production. The famous An-225 is one of these aircraft. Many are interested in the technical characteristics of the Mriya An-225 aircraft. It is known that this model was designed for cargo transportation of special complexity. At present, only one model of this aircraft has been built to the end. It is noteworthy that the An-225 is still used by people, never ceasing to amaze experts with its power and size.
Initially, it was planned to create two aircraft of the Mriya model, but only one machine was completed to the end. The second liner is about 70% ready and can be completed at any time, but subject to the provision of good financial support, which not all investors are capable of.
An-225 impresses with its power and size
Despite the apparent scale of the project, it took very little time to create and implement it. The first drawings appeared in 1985, and three years later the plane was already built.
How did you manage to complete the work on creating a new aircraft in such a short time? This is easy enough to explain. The An-225 aircraft technical characteristics are almost the same as An-124 "Ruslan", because "Mriya" was created on its basis.
Comparative characteristics of models
- The fuselage of the An-225 is somewhat longer than that of its predecessor, but at the same time it has the same transverse dimensions.
- Each wing of the Mriya is made on the basis of the same design as the wings of the Ruslan, but at the same time has additional sections. Due to this, the overall span and area of the wings of the An-225 increased.
- The Mriya chassis has seven struts, while the Ruslan chassis has five.
- The An-225 aircraft received a pair of additional engines and a modified cargo compartment.
There are also other similarities and differences between Mriya and Ruslan. But it should be noted that the improved characteristics of the An-225 allow it to cope with more complex tasks.
Due to the large number of similarities between the two aircraft models, many are wondering: which aircraft is larger Mriya or Ruslan? Both airliners are different huge size. In some sources, they are even called air heavyweights without a future, since the production of these machines requires large investments and competent organization of construction. In fact, we can say that Mriya is somewhat larger than his predecessor, but Ruslan deserves the title the world's largest serial aircraft.
An-225 has always coped with the solution of various difficult tasks
Purpose and functionality of the An-225
Planned full-scale operation of the aircraft to achieve the goals space industry of the USSR. The carrying capacity of the Mriya aircraft made it possible to organize a special transport system capable of transporting goods of considerable size and weight. These cargoes included parts of the Buran spacecraft and the Energia rocket. It was necessary to organize the reliable transportation of these goods from the point where they were produced to the point where the assembly was completed. To do this, Mriya needed to overcome the distance from the central regions of the USSR to Kazakhstan, where the Baikonur cosmodrome was located.
Mriya also had to serve the needs of the national economy. It is worth emphasizing that Mriya even now carries out transportation of oversized cargo over long distances.
The first demonstration of the aircraft to the general public took place in February 1989. And already in the spring, Mriya made a non-stop flight from Baikonur to Kyiv, transporting the Buran, which weighed 60 tons. A little later, the airliner was sent with the same cargo to the Paris air show, where it became a sensation. The aircraft has installed more than 200 world records associated with the transportation of heavy and oversized cargo.
Mriya has always had many noble goals related to the implementation of space projects, but it is also used to perform more general tasks:
- implementation of cargo transportation for a wide range of purposes;
- non-stop cargo transportation within the continent;
- transportation of goods between continents;
- cargo transportation on an external sling;
- used to organize the air launch of spacecraft.
The liner performed a huge number of flights and coped with the transportation of very complex cargo. Most of the operations performed by the aircraft can be called unique. Most of them in the history of aviation could not be handled by any other airliner.
An-225 was modernized in 2009, due to which its service life has slightly increased.
Modernization benefited An-225
Technical indicators of the aircraft "Mriya"
In order to accurately answer how much the Mriya aircraft weighs, it is painful to get acquainted with its main technical data in detail. Airliner wingspan is 88.4 meters long, 84 meters long and 18.2 meters high. Empty An-225 weighs 250 thousand kg. Maximum takeoff weight aircraft equals 600 thousand kg. Fuel mass is 300 thousand kg. Six engines turbofan D have total weight equal to 18 tons. Specific fuel consumption ranges from 0.57 to 0.63 kg/kgf h. The liner reaches cruising speed equal to 850 km/h. Practical range aircraft equals 15,600 km. Range- 4,500 km. The aircraft may have 6 crew members. Mriya is 250 - 450 thousand kg.
The use of the An-225 today
Now Mriya mainly carries out commercial cargo transportation. The vessel is also periodically used as a flying launch facility for aerospace systems.
In contact with
The list of the largest aircraft in the world 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.Huge An-225 inside The listed aircraft were created in different countries world, some of them are transport and cargo, some are created only for the transport of passengers. The need for high-capacity aircraft is growing from year to year, which is associated with the desire of people to travel, explore new countries, and discover new continents.
Hughes H-4 Hercules
To date, the aircraft with the largest wingspan is the Hughes H-4 Hercules. It was built in 1947 from wood.
It was supposed to be able to carry at least seven hundred and fifty troops with full equipment. Hughes H-4 Hercules has the largest wingspan The height of this wooden giant is twenty-four meters, the length is sixty-six meters and forty-five centimeters, with a wingspan of ninety-eight meters. Today 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 takeoff weight is six hundred and forty tons. Super- Mriya aircraft exists in a single copy. 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 the construction of the second such aircraft is underway.
Airbus A380
Leader among passenger aircraft in terms of capacity is an airliner with the name Airbus A380. Its creator is Airbus S.A.S. Passengers in this aircraft are accommodated on two decks. The capacity of the Airbus A380 without business class can be up to 853 people. Being the largest among the mass-produced airliners, this one is also the most economical in terms of fuel consumption. For a hundred kilometers, fuel consumption per 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 a little over twenty-one meters with a wingspan of seventy-three meters thirty centimeters.Among the many aircraft that have appeared since the first flight of the Wright brothers, there are several unique machines specially created to perform special functions or to test unusual technical solutions. Many of these aircraft never went into production or were made in limited numbers.
Our material is about a completely unique aircraft, which was also designed for a special job and made in a single copy. But this machine is still in service, it serves people and does not get tired to amaze with its epic power. We are talking about the largest aircraft in the world - the An-225 Mriya transport aircraft.
The history of the creation of the An-225 "Mriya"
This machine was designed and built in a very short time: the first drawings appeared in 1985, and in 1988 the transport aircraft was already built. The reason for such a short time is quite easy to explain: "Mriya" was created using well-developed components and assemblies of the An-124 "Ruslan" aircraft. The fuselage of the Mriya has the same transverse dimensions as the An-124, but is longer, the wingspan and area have increased. The same structure as that of Ruslan has a wing, but additional sections have been added to it. The An-225 has two additional engines. The landing gear of the aircraft is almost the same as the chassis of the Ruslan - but it has seven instead of five racks. The cargo compartment has been significantly changed. Initially, two aircraft were laid down at the aircraft plant, but so far only one An-225 has been completed. The second copy of the unique aircraft is approximately 70% ready and can be completed at any time with proper funding. For its completion, an amount of 100-120 million dollars is needed.
On February 1, 1989, the aircraft was shown to the general public, and in May of the same year, the An-225 made a non-stop flight from Baikonur to Kiev, carrying a Buran weighing 60 tons on its back. In the same month, the An-225 delivered the Buran spacecraft to the Paris air show and made a splash there. In total, the aircraft has 240 world records, including the transport of the heaviest cargo (253 tons), the heaviest monolithic cargo (188 tons) and the longest cargo.
The An-225 Mriya aircraft was originally designed for the needs of the Soviet space industry. In those years, the Soviet Union was building the Buran, its first reusable ship, the answer to the American shuttle. To implement this project, a transport system was needed, with which it was possible to transport large loads. It was for these purposes that Mriya was conceived. In addition to the components and assemblies of the spacecraft itself, it was necessary to transport parts of the Energia rocket, which also had colossal dimensions. All this was delivered from the place of production to the points of final assembly. The nodes and components of Energia and Buran were manufactured in the central regions of the USSR, and the final assembly of the space system took place in Kazakhstan, at the Baikonur cosmodrome. In addition, the An-225 was originally designed so that in the future it could carry the completed Buran spacecraft. Also, the An-225 could carry bulky cargo for the needs of the national economy, for example, equipment for the mining, oil and gas industries.
In addition to participating in the Soviet space program, the aircraft was to be used to transport oversized cargo over long distances. This work An-225 "Mriya" will perform today.
The general functions and tasks of the machine can be described as follows:
- transportation of general-purpose cargo (oversized, heavy) with a total weight of up to 250 tons;
- intracontinental non-stop transportation of goods weighing 180−200 tons;
- intercontinental transportation of goods weighing up to 150 tons;
- transportation of heavy oversized cargo on an external sling with a total weight of up to 200 tons;
- use of aircraft for air launch of spacecraft.
Flying cosmodrome An-225 "Mriya"
This is far from all. Other, even more ambitious tasks were set before the unique aircraft - and they were also related to space. The An-225 "Mriya" aircraft was supposed to become a kind of flying cosmodrome, a platform from which spaceships and rockets would be launched into orbit. "Mriya", as conceived by the designers, was to become the first step for the launch of reusable spacecraft of the "Buran" type. Therefore, initially the designers were faced with the task of making an aircraft with a carrying capacity of at least 250 tons.
The Soviet shuttle was supposed to start from the "back" of the aircraft. This method of launching vehicles into near-Earth orbit has many serious advantages. Firstly, there is no need to build very expensive ground-based launch complexes, and secondly, launching a rocket or ship from an aircraft saves fuel significantly and allows increasing the payload of a spacecraft. In some cases, this may allow you to completely abandon the first stage of the rocket.
Various air launch options are being developed at the present time. The United States is especially active in this direction; there are also Russian developments.
Alas, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the "air launch" project using the An-225 was practically buried. This aircraft was an active participant in the Energia-Buran program. An-225 carried out fourteen flights with Buran on the top of the fuselage, hundreds of tons of various cargoes were transported under this program.
After 1991, funding for the Energia-Buran program ceased, and the An-225 was left without work. Only in 2000 did the modernization of the machine begin for commercial use. The An-225 "Mriya" aircraft has unique technical characteristics, a huge payload and can carry bulky cargo on its fuselage - all this makes the aircraft very popular for commercial transportation.
Since that time, the An-225 has performed many flights and transported hundreds of tons of various cargoes. Some transport operations can be safely called unique and unparalleled in the history of aviation. The plane took part in humanitarian operations several times. After the devastating tsunami, he delivered power generators to Samoa, transported construction equipment to earthquake-ravaged Haiti, and helped clean up the aftermath of an earthquake in Japan.
In 2009, the An-225 aircraft was upgraded and its service life was extended.
The device of the An-225 aircraft
The An-225 "Mriya" aircraft is made according to the classical scheme, with high-raised wings of small sweep. The cabin is located in front of the aircraft, the cargo hatch is also located in the nose of the machine. The aircraft is made according to the two-keel scheme. Such a decision is associated with the need to transport goods on the fuselage of the aircraft. The glider of the An-225 aircraft has very high aerodynamic properties, the value of the aerodynamic quality of this machine is 19, which is an excellent indicator not only for transport, but also for passenger aircraft. This, in turn, greatly improved the performance of the aircraft and reduced fuel consumption.
Almost the entire internal space of the fuselage is occupied by the cargo compartment. Compared to the An-124, it has grown by 10% (by seven meters). At the same time, the wingspan increased by only 20%, two more engines were added, and the aircraft's carrying capacity increased by one and a half times. During the construction of the An-225, drawings, components and assemblies of the An-124 were actively used, thanks to which the aircraft was able to be created in such a short time. Here are the main differences between the An-225 and the An-124 Ruslan:
New center section;
increased fuselage length;
single-keel tail unit was replaced with a two-keel one;
lack of a tail cargo hatch;
the number of main landing gear racks has been increased from five to seven;
system of fastening and pressurization of external loads;
two additional D-18T engines were installed.
Unlike Ruslan, Mriya has only one cargo hatch in the nose of the aircraft. Like its predecessor, "Mriya" can change the clearance and angle of the fuselage, which is extremely convenient for loading and unloading. The chassis has three supports: a front two-column and two main ones, each of which consists of seven pillars. At the same time, all racks are independent of each other and are produced separately.
An-225 has six D-18T engines suspended under the wings, as well as two auxiliary power units located inside the fuselage.
The cargo compartment is sealed and equipped with all the necessary equipment for loading operations. Inside the fuselage, the An-225 can carry up to sixteen standard air containers (each weighing ten tons), fifty cars or any cargo weighing up to two hundred tons (turbines, extra large trucks, generators). On top of the fuselage, special fastenings are provided for the transportation of oversized cargo.
To take off without cargo, the aircraft needs a runway 2400 meters long, with cargo - 3500 meters.
Specifications An-225 "Mriya"
Video about An-225 Mriya
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An-225 "Mriya" - heavy military transport aircraft, developed in the OKB. Antonova. The heaviest aircraft in the world.
History of An-225
The reason for the construction of the An-225 was the need to create an aviation transport system for the Buran reusable spacecraft project. The main purpose of heavy transport aircraft within the framework of this project was the transportation of various components of the launch vehicle and spacecraft from the place of production and assembly to the launch site. There was also an important task of delivering the space shuttle to the cosmodrome in case it landed at alternate airfields.
In addition, it was planned to use the aircraft as the first stage of the spacecraft air launch system, which required the aircraft to carry at least 250 tons.
Thus, the An-225 was created as an aircraft designed to solve a narrow range of rather unique transport tasks, but using it as a basis gave it certain qualities of a universal transport aircraft.
An-225 design
The An-225 is a six-engine high-wing aircraft with a swept wing and two-fin tails. Equipped with six D-18T aircraft engines manufactured by Motor Sich OJSC.
The cargo compartment of the aircraft is airtight, which greatly expands its transport capabilities. Above the cargo compartment on the 2nd deck there is a cabin for six people of a shift crew and 88 people accompanying the cargo.
The onboard complex of loading equipment, as well as the design of the front cargo hatch with a ramp, ensure quick and convenient loading and unloading operations. The aircraft is capable of carrying unique cargo on the fuselage, the dimensions of which do not allow them to be placed on other ground and air vehicles. To install these cargoes on the fuselage, there is a special fastening system.
The aircraft has a high degree of continuity and unification in terms of systems, assemblies, assemblies and parts of the airframe, power plant and equipment with the certified An-124-100 (Ruslan) aircraft.
Video An-225: Taxiing and takeoff at Zurich Airport
An-225 operation
After the collapse of the USSR, the only flying copy of the aircraft stopped flying in 1994, engines and other equipment were removed from it for use in Ruslans. However, by the 2000s, the need for it became obvious, and it was restored by Ukrainian enterprises. Also, the aircraft has undergone refinement to meet the standards of aircraft for civil aviation.
Currently, the An-225 performs commercial cargo transportation as part of the air transport division of the ASTC named after. O. K. Antonova - Antonov Airlines.
Records
An-225 is the heaviest cargo aircraft ever to take to the air. The only aircraft that surpasses the Mriya in terms of wingspan is the Hughes H-4 Hercules, which belongs to the class of flying boats and took to the air only once in 1947.
The Mriya aircraft set a world record for take-off weight and payload. On March 22, 1989, the An-225 flew with a load of 156.3 tons, in which 110 world aviation records were simultaneously broken. Such an achievement is a record in itself. In total, this aircraft is the owner of about 250 world records.
In August 2004, a record was set - Mriya transported 250 tons of special equipment commissioned by Zeromax GmbH from Prague to Tashkent with an intermediate landing in Samara.
In August 2009, the aircraft was listed in the Guinness Book of Records for transporting the largest monocargo in the history of aviation with a total weight of 187.6 tons. It was a generator weighing 174 tons, which was transported along with a special frame from Frankfurt, Germany, to Yerevan for a new power plant.
Second instance
The second copy of the aircraft was planned to be completed at the Antonov plant if funding was available. Since Soviet times, the center section, fuselage and wing have remained. This machine can be completed if a customer appears.
Operators
- Antonov Airlines (subdivision of Antonov Design Bureau)
