The first and only An-225 was completed in 1988. A second airframe was partially built; its completion was halted because of lack of funding and interest.
Originally posted by TK: Like the C5A they are so big it looks like they take off and fly at 30mph. Amazing something that big flies.
I have thought about that for some time. I used to regularly see C5A's take off and land. I think it has something to do with sq ft/sq in of wing surface. Like a sail can move a boat with a light breeze.
Like the C5A they are so big it looks like they take off and fly at 30mph. Amazing something that big flies.
I live on one side and work on the other side of Grissom ARB (formerly AFB). I've seen quite a few C5s take off and land. Massive beasts. Something like 65 feet tall with a 220 foot wingspan.
Like the C5A they are so big it looks like they take off and fly at 30mph. Amazing something that big flies.
I don't know how large it is compared to the C5A but even at low altitude the C5 looks slow. Having lived in the flight path of Atlanta-Hartsfield and Lockheed-Marietta, I remember the first time I saw the C5A. It was in the early days of flight testing and it looked like a blimp with wings and a small bird flying along at each wing tip. Turns out those 2 small birds were chase planes. I can only imagine the Mriya.
I saw the AN-225 while I was in the military. Next to a C-5 they are clearly in the same "weight class" but the 225 is bigger. Huge, even from a distance.
When I worked at Airborne Express in Wilmington, Ohio, we had its little brother, the AN-124 come in on ocassion to pick up GE engines (from Cincinnati) for the 777 and take them to the Boeing assembly plant in Seattle. It carried 3 of them at a time. I once had to escort a phone company repairman up our tower to fix an old phone, and the lady who was working in the tower that day said the Russian pilots often ignore what the air traffic controllers tell them to do. They just do whatever they want, she said. But on the ground they are kept under armed guard.
I got to drive right up to the plane once and took a couple of polaroids. Still got em around here somewhere. The AN-225 in the video looks to be much larger even than the 124.
I don't know how large it is compared to the C5A but even at low altitude the C5 looks slow. Having lived in the flight path of Atlanta-Hartsfield and Lockheed-Marietta, I remember the first time I saw the C5A. It was in the early days of flight testing and it looked like a blimp with wings and a small bird flying along at each wing tip. Turns out those 2 small birds were chase planes. I can only imagine the Mriya.
Every time I see one I expect to see a string holding it up because they aren't moving. Travis AFB has a lot of C5A traffic and when a couple are in the air together it looks like a mobile. Weird!
