We had 3 in at Farnborough once to transport Land Rovers to Siberia for some motoring competion.
They all flew in from Ukraine, loaded the Land Rovers, and departed direct to Siberia without re-fuelling. That's some fuel load!
Air Foyle operated them under contract but none were based in the UK. When they were asked to transport freight into Farnborough for the airshow one year, Air Foyle refused saying the runway wasn't long enough.
When the Antonov design bureau heard this, they said 'no problem' and their Chief Test Pilot flew the freight into Farnborough, Air Foyle having tried to take out an injunction to stop them.
I saw the letter the CTP sent to the high court to refute Air Foyle's objections.
Last edited by chevvron; 3rd Jul 2019 at 11:51.