The Mriya aircraft, whose name means "dream" in Ukrainian, is considered the largest in the world, with an extra large payload.
History of Creation
In the 1980s, when the full-scale development of the reusable Buran spacecraft was underway, a vehicle was needed that would be able to transport both the spacecraft itself and its components in order to assemble it on 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 largest carrying capacity. This work in 1984 was entrusted to the Antonov Design Bureau. And by the twenty-first of December 1988, the aircraft of the Mriya Academy of Sciences made its first flight.
When designing, the designers took Ruslan AN-124 as a basis. This allowed to reduce development costs, which was very important at that moment. That is why the Mriya aircraft is so similar to its predecessor.
In total it was supposed to build two copies of this air superheavyweight. However, by 1994, the Buran space program was closed, and the aircraftMriya was dismantled and sent for spare parts for Ruslans.
Return of "Dream"
Fortunately, in 2001 it was restored again, assembled by the efforts of Ukrainian enterprises, and it began to fly again. In addition, it was finalized so that the liner could meet the standards required for civil aviation. At the same time, the second copy at that time was only seventy percent ready.
In the spring of 2001, the Mriya aircraft received certificates from the Aviation Register of the IAC and the State Department "Ukraviatrans". This allowed him to be used as a commercial cargo carrier.
The Mriya aircraft, or AN-225, is a six-engine turbojet transport ship with a twin tail and swept wing. This is explained by the fact that initially the high-wing aircraft was supposed to be used as the first stage for the launch of the Buran with the Energia launch vehicle.
Its six engines could lift two hundred and fifty tons into the air, and the maximum speed of the AN-225 was equal to cruising - 800 km/h.
The Mriya aircraft, whose characteristics brought it as close as possible to Ruslan, was forty-three meters long and six and a half wide. Fifty passenger cars could easily fit in its cargo compartment. And above it was a cabin for a crew of six.
The Mriya aircraft broke two and a half hundred records and lifted a load of 187 tons.
Today, the An-225 is part of the air transport detachment of the ASTC named after. Antonov, being at the disposal of Antonov Airlines. At the same time, design work began to use this aircraft as a starting 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. Since the times 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 the most rough estimates, more than one hundred million dollars will be needed to complete the installation and assembly of the second An-225.
