Facts about Antonov An-225 Mriya

We found 24 facts about Antonov An-225 Mriya

Like a phoenix from ashes

It is the heaviest though not the largest of the aircraft constructed to date. Although it was created in the communist realities of the USSR, and its purpose was mainly to service the Soviet space program, it is perfectly at home in the capitalist realities of the modern world delivering large-scale cargoes around the globe.

Although it was destroyed by the Russian military in February 2022, it is already known that work is underway to rebuild the aircraft, so one day the giant will surely return to the skies.

Here is the multiple record holder of the skies – An-225 Mriya.

1
An-225 Mriya is the second-largest aircraft constructed to date.

It is second only to the American Hughes H-4 Spruce Goose design.

2
The aircraft weighs 285 tons and is the heaviest aircraft ever constructed.

The maximum takeoff weight of the An-225 is 640 tons.

3
Only one flying example of the aircraft was built.

The second planned An-225 was only partially built, with an unfinished skeleton and plating.

4
The design basis for the An-225 was the An-124 Ruslan aircraft.

The design work was carried out by the Antonov Design Bureau. The aircraft was constructed at the O.K Antonov plant in Kyiv.

5
Mriya was flown on 21st December 1988.

6
The aircraft was originally intended to transport the Soviet space shuttle “Buran.”

For this reason, the aircraft’s fuselage is equipped with special mounts on the “roof” and the twin stabilizers on the tail replaced the single one, which could not serve its purpose when transporting the shuttle.

7
The An-225 Mirya has been used commercially by Ukraine’s Antonov Airlines since 2001.

8
The wingspan of the An-225 is 88.4 meters and the length of the fuselage is 84 meters. The aircraft’s height is 10.10 meters.

The lifting area of this giant is 905 square meters.

9
The aircraft is powered by six D-18T engines, each with a thrust of 229.5 kN.

The engines were designed in the 1970s and the first test of a full-size unit was conducted on 19th September 1980.

The first flight of the An-124, which took place on 24th December 1982, was also the engine’s debut. The latest version of the D-18T is the M3, which has reduced exhaust emissions and extended the life of the hot section (combustion chamber, turbine, and exhaust nozzle) to 14.000 hours.

D-18T are used in the An-124 and An-225.

10
An-225 consumes about 18 tons of fuel during an hour of flight.

11
The aircraft has a cruising speed of 800 km/h, a minimum speed of 250 km/h, and a maximum speed of 850 km/h.

12
Loading of the aircraft is possible only after lifting the nose of the fuselage. The cargo hold has a capacity of 1300 cubic meters and the maximum cargo weight is 250 tons.

Unlike the An-124, the Mryia has two vertical stabilizers on the tail, allowing it to transport extremely heavy loads that would negatively affect the aerodynamics of a classic “single” tail.

13
The aircraft was designed for a 23-person crew.

14
The range of a fully fueled aircraft is 15.400 kilometers with an empty payload.

Mriya’s range with a load of 200 tons drops to 4000 kilometers.

15
The An-225 has 32 wheels in a three-wheel arrangement.

The main landing gear consists of 7 two-wheel sets on each side while the front landing gear consists of 2 two-wheel sets. The landing gear is retracted into the fuselage of the aircraft during flight.

16
During a flight held on 22nd March 1989, An-225 Mriya set 106 world records.

17
In 2009, the aircraft carried a 16x4-meter generator for a power plant from Germany to Armenia.

It was the largest object ever transported by aircraft.

18
On 14th April 2020, cargoes of medical supplies for COVID-19 were delivered to Chopin Airport in Warsaw, Poland, by this aircraft.

The An-225 transported a cargo of 1000 cubic meters, the largest to date, with which another record was set for this aircraft.

19
On 30th August 2016, the Airspace Industry Corporation of China signed an agreement with Antonov Corporation to complete the second machine and start production of more, with upgraded avionics and a different propulsion system.

20
In 2006, it was decided to complete the second aircraft, but to date, it has not been put into service.

21
Luggage racks are being designed that will be hooked up in place of the Buran shuttle’s hitches.

They will be used for transporting goods that will not fit in the cargo hold of the An-225.

22
The machine’s international air code is UR-82060 and the call sign is ADB350F.

23
The aircraft was destroyed by Russian aggressors in February 2022.

The An-225 was held in a hangar at Hostomel Airport near Kyiv. In an official message to the press on 27th February 2022, a representative of the Ukroboronprom Corporation confirmed the destruction of the machine along with other aircraft in the hangar.

24
The aircraft will be rebuilt. The new machine will incorporate in its design elements of the copy destroyed by the Russian military.

The reconstruction was announced by the general director of the Antonov concern, Yevhen Havrylov.

The work is being carried out at a secret location and its cost will be about 500 million euros. Thus, it is much lower than the amount estimated in February 2022.

According to Havrylov’s words on 7th November 2022, the aircraft is 30 percent complete.

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