Antonov's enormous An-225 'Mriya' cargo aircraft has been dominating the headlines in recent
days.
While the six-engine behemoth often garnered significant media attention, the tone of recent
reports has much less celebratory.
Indeed, the An-225 appears to have been destroyed amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Let's take a look back at what made this unique aircraft such a phenomenon.
The most conspicuous thing about the Mriya, whose name means 'dream' or 'inspiration'
in Ukrainian, is the aircraft's sheer size.
This is immediately evident in photographs of the outsize freighter, and surely even
more so for those who have been lucky enough to see the plane in person.
But how big was it, exactly?
Length-wise, the An-225 comfortably outstretched even the longest modern commercial airliners
by nearly 10 meters.
It clocked in at 84 meters long, compared to 76.7, 76.4, and 75.4 meters for the Boeing
777-9, 747-8, and Airbus A340-600 respectively.
When it came to the An-225's wingspan, this figure was even longer than the Mriya's significant
length.
Supporting six turbofan engines, the plane's wings stretched 88.4 meters in width, beaten
only by the Hughes H-4 Hercules and Scaled Composites Stratolaunch.
The An-225 was also the heaviest aircraft ever built, with a 650-ton maximum takeoff
weight, including 250 tons of cargo capacity.
Statistically, we can see that the An-225 was hard to beat when it came to its dimensions.
These were a key reason as to why it was so popular among aviation enthusiasts, who would
come out in their droves to see the plane wherever it went.
However, the behemoth was also an exceptional performer, and held several world records.
Initially designed to carry spacecraft in the form of 'Buran' orbiters, the An-225 experienced
a prolonged hiatus after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Returning to service in the 21st century, it found itself being used to carry an increasingly
diverse range of cargo on a commercial basis.
This allowed it to set many world records for both cargo size and weight.
Sadly, as you may already know, shortly after Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, reports
began to emerge that the An-225 had been destroyed in fighting at Kyiv's Hostomel Airport (GML).
Several days later, Ukrainian officials took to Twitter to confirm the enormous aircraft's
sad fate.
Initial proof came in the form of a poor quality photo of already-poor-quality drone footage-
although, as you can see here, much of the aircraft’s hangar is obscured by smoke and
fire.
However, a satellite image does show the aircraft’s hangar damaged with part of the An225’s
tail sticking out of the other end.
Some have asked why the aircraft wasn’t moved in advance of the impending invasion.
Unfortunately, we don’t have the answer to this question.
Ukraine's plans to get the An-225 back in the air provide a glimmer of hope at what
is a worrying and uncertain time.
How the country will do so remains unclear, but perhaps it will make use of the second,
unfinished An-225 airframe to get a headstart on the project.
As Simple Flying explored last year, this is around 60-70-% complete.
What are your memories of the Antonov An-225?
Did you ever get to see the aircraft in person?
Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments.