AN-225 - it's BIG!

[ricardian]

Max take-off weight 640 tons. (http://gelio.livejournal.com/193025.html)

[DCBOE]

Wow- GSS should get some!

[Dash8driver1312]

As stated on the website, that machine has flown since 1988. Where have you been all this time.

The "factoids" are more a collection of rumour and supposition. Yes, there was thought of using Mriya as a first-stage booster-but for HOTOL, never Buran (Buran unlike the STS did not have its own rocket engines, and neither had large fuel tanks, hence the large external tank.)

Comparing jet engines to HP outputs...really...

Annnnd...747-Fs DO have nose loading...

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

I've seen it several times in flight over the UK and had close up views at East Midlands. I believe it went to Farnborough too.

[Sir George Cayley]

If you scroll the photo there's some impressive shots to see.

SGC

[skydiver69]

Has anyone got any idea why its crew includes a navigator and radio operator? I would have thought that their roles would have died out in the 1970's whilst this aeroplane was built in the late 80's albeit related to a late 1970's design.

[Bob the Dog]

Thanks you for placing these photos on PPRuNe.

SUPER................ :D

[RedhillPhil]

Antonov 225 take-off from Manchester Airport - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYF6fYteIq8&feature=player_detailpage#t=3)

[flyboyike]

Has anyone got any idea why its crew includes a navigator and radio operator? I would have thought that their roles would have died out in the 1970's whilst this aeroplane was built in the late 80's albeit related to a late 1970's design.


Keep in mind that this was built essentially as a military aircraft, not an airliner, hence the cockpit configuration.

[chevvron]

Went on board when it displayed at Farnborough. Inside was a kitchen table covered with empty bottles (wine/spirits) and a few kitchen type chairs around it.
This rather wrecked my Flying Display programme as it was supposed to be flying that day - needless to say it didn't; the company apparently couldn't afford the fuel even though BAe had offered to pay.
Climbed the ladder to the flight deck; the only permanent seats were for the pilots, the FE station had an old armchair!!

[An-225]

Thank you *very* much for the link! :ok: I've never seen such a detailed report on the -225 before.

Has anyone got any idea why its crew includes a navigator and radio operator? I would have thought that their roles would have died out in the 1970's whilst this aeroplane was built in the late 80's albeit related to a late 1970's design.

Could very much be an apocryphal tale, but I had heard that one of the more superfluous crewmembers onboard (perhaps in this instance, the radio operator) was a political commissar, to prevent pilots from defecting with what was then the pride of the Soviet Air Force.

[doublestory]

Burns 24t/Hour (approx. 30000lts and hour). In the whole of last year my car used 1500lts - mind boggling!

[Heathrow Harry]

A few years back someone hired it to take a whole seismic crew, including 4 big vib. trucks and the recording truck, to Oman. Just drove on , tied down and took off.

It flew from Budaapest I think to Seeb - cost a fortune but saved months of stripping the vehicles down, loading them on a boat and then rebuilding and recalibrating all the hydraulics and electronics on arrival

understand they were in operation 4 days after leaving Hungary..........