The largest aircraft in the world, the Ukrainian built Antonov 225, tail number ADB 3452, made it’s first ever appearance at Toronto Pearson International Airport on November 18, 2014. It was delivering mining parts from Doncaster, Sheffield, England (DSA/EGCN) via Keflavik, Iceland (KEF/BIKF) and Goose Bay (CYYR). It departed YYZ on November 19, 2014.
Images courtesy of Andy Cline.
Seeing this aircraft is always a spectacle. Conceived in the chillest years of the Cold War, it was originally designed to transport space shuttles for the now defunct Soviet space shuttle program.
This airplane, currently the only one of it’s kind, is nicknamed Mriya, which means “dream” in Ukrainian.
The 225 makes a the jumbo jet 747 look small in comparison and can carry twice as much as a 747 freighter. It’s dimensions are impressive: it’s nearly a football field long from nose to tail (84 meters) and from wingtip to wingtip (88 meters).
It has a maximum takeoff weight of 1.32 million pounds – that’s 640 tonnes – and is equipped with six ZMKB Progress Lotarev D-18T turbo fan jet engines, each capable of 51,590 pounds of thrust.
It requires six crew to fly the plane, and holds 300,000 kg of fuel and cruises at 800 km /h – that’s 432 knots! The service ceiling is 11,00 meters (36,000 feet). It’s landing gear system features 32 wheels, some of which are steerable.
The plane requires a runway that is over 9800 feet (2.9 km) to land, and at maximum weight, that runway needs to be 11,000 feet (3.3 km).
There was only one of these aircraft ever built! Apparently, there is a second one that is being built, and is reportedly 60-70% complete.
It is amazing that an aircraft of this size can fly through the air. An amazing feat of engineering.
Watch the Antonov land at Manchester.
