Mriya, The Supersize Cargo Plane

On 19 Jan 2008 Budapest had a very special visitor, the most giant airplane, the AN 225 aka Mriya. Its name means Dream in Ukrainian and as the history of the plane shows, it has always remained the dream project of the Antonov Factory. The super cargo plane came to Budapest for some instruments used to forecast earthquakes.

With its maximum take-off weight (640 tons) at the moment this is the heaviest plane of the world. It can deliver 250 tons of useful cargo weight, which is 100 tons more than the most modern giant plane, the A380. After its maiden flight 21 Dec 1988, it set more records in the history of aviation.

Mriya was originally planned to support the Buran orbiter program by transporting the orbiter when needed. As the Soviet Union was over, the orbiter program was stopped and no more AN 225s were needed. Therefore this is the only airworthy Mriya in the world.

Specification

General characteristics

* Crew: 6
* Payload: 250,000 kg (550,000 lb)
* Door dimensions: 440 x 640 cm (14.4 x 21.0 ft)
* Length: 84 m (275.6 ft)
* Wingspan: 88.40 m (290 ft 2 in)
* Height: 18.1 m (59.3 ft)
* Wing area: 905.0 m² (9,743.7 ft²)
* Empty weight: 175,000 kg (385,800 lb)
* Max takeoff weight: 600,000 kg (1,322,773 lb)
* Powerplant: 6× ZMKB Progress D-18 turbofans, 229 kN (51,600 lbf) each
* Takeoff run: 3,500 m (11,500 ft) with maximum payload

Performance

* Maximum speed: 850 km/h (460 knots, 530 mph)
* Cruise speed: 750 km/h (400 knots, 465 mph)
* Range:

o With maximum fuel: 14,000 km (8,700 mi)

o With maximum payload: 4,000 km (2,500 mi)

* Service ceiling 10,000 m (33,000 ft)
* Wing loading: 662.9 kg/m² (135.5 lb/ft²)
* Thrust/weight: 0.234
Check out the nice pictures taken by a friend of ours, Viktor Laszlo.

By Szafi