The Mriya aircraft, whose name in Ukrainian means “dream,” is considered the largest in the world, with an extra-large payload.
History of creation
In the eighties of the last century, when the reusable Buran spacecraft was being fully developed, transport was needed that could transport both the spacecraft itself and its components in order to assemble it at the launch pad. At that moment in the USSR there was not a single aircraft that would be able to fully cope with the task. And so it was decided to develop and assemble an air liner with the highest payload. This work in 1984 was entrusted to the Antonov Design Bureau. And by the twenty-first of December 1988, the plane of AN Mriya made its first flight.
When designing the designers, the Ruslan AN-124 was taken as the basis. This allowed to reduce development costs, which at that time was very important. That is why the Mriya airplane is so similar to its predecessor.
In total, it was supposed to build two copies of this air superheavy. However, by 1994, the Buran space program was closed, and the Mriya aircraft was disassembled and sent for spare parts for the Ruslan.
The Return of "Dreams"
Fortunately, in 2001 he was restored again, having gathered the efforts of Ukrainian enterprises, and he again began to fly. In addition, it was modified so that the airliner could meet the standards required for civil aviation. Moreover, the second copy at that time was ready for only seventy percent.
In the spring of 2001, the Mriya aircraft received certificates of the IAC Aviation Register and the State Department Ukraviatrans. This made it possible to use it as a commercial carrier of goods.
The Mriya plane, or AN-225, is a six-engine turbojet transport ship with a two-keel plumage and an arrow-shaped wing. This is due to the fact that initially the high-wing plan was supposed to be used as the first step for launching the Buran with the Energia launch vehicle.
Its six engines could lift into the air two hundred and fifty tons, and the maximum speed of the AN-225 was equated to cruising - 800 km / h.
The Mriya aircraft, whose characteristics brought him as close as possible to Ruslan, was forty-three meters long and six and a half wide. Fifty cars could easily fit in his cargo hold. And above it was a crew cabin of six people.
The Mriya plane broke two and a half hundred records and lifted a cargo of 187 tons.
To date, the An-225 is part of the ANTK them. Antonova, at the disposal of Antonov Airlines. In parallel, design work began on the use of this aircraft as a launching flying complex in aerospace systems. Experts consider the Russian-Ukrainian MAKS one of the most promising projects.
The second Mriya aircraft was supposed to be completed at the Antonov plant, subject to the availability of funding. Ever since the days of the USSR, a center section with a fuselage and a wing has been preserved there. However, the work was suspended until the appearance of the customer. According to rough estimates, more than one hundred million dollars will be needed to complete the installation and assembly of the second An-225.