The An-225 Mriya airliner, the photo of which is located below, is the heaviest aircraft in terms of carrying capacity that has ever taken off into the air. Its maximum takeoff weight is 640 tons. The creation of the model was associated with the need to build an air transport system for the needs of the project of the reusable Soviet spacecraft Buran. It should be noted that at the moment this aircraft exists in only one copy. All this will be discussed in more detail later.
Design order
In the middle of 1988, the government of the Soviet Union instructed the Antonov Design Bureau to develop a design and build a new aircraft. The main requirement that was put forward for him was the ability to transport the Buran spacecraft. In addition, the aircraft was planned to be used in such a field of activity as transport aviation, where it would be used to transport large-sized equipment foroil, construction and mining industries.
Precursor
In addition to all other requirements, the designers were faced with the task of reducing the cost of the new airliner as much as possible. In addition, it was necessary to reduce the time of its construction as much as possible. In this regard, they decided to take as a basis the design, as well as the main units and components of another large model - the AN-124 Ruslan. It should be noted that at that time she confidently topped the rating "The Best Aircraft of Ukraine" (a photo of the vessel is given below).
This liner made its first flight at the end of 1982. Its transport characteristics were among the best on the planet. A vivid proof of this was the fact that after the appearance of Ruslan, some world space companies began to actively refine their air transport vehicles. This also applies to the Americans, who urgently began to improve their Lockheed project - S-5A Galaxy.
Preliminary studies showed that this heavy transport aircraft, in terms of such an indicator as payload, was capable of transporting the components of not only the Buran system, but even the oxygen and hydrogen tanks of the Energia rocket in docked form. On the other hand, its single-fin tail made it impossible to transport long loads externally.
Key changes
The designers have changed the design of the wings for Mriya. In connection with the addition of additional sections in the center, theirspan. The design of the wing mounts on the pylons remained the same, but their number increased to six. If the size of the cross section of the fuselage, compared with the previous modification, remained the same, then the overall length of the hull increased. In order to reduce weight, it was decided to eliminate the rear cargo hatch with all the devices designed for loading and unloading. For access to the cargo compartment, the bow of the liner rises. In total, it takes about ten minutes to open or close the ramp. On the Ruslan model, five separate racks with twin wheels were installed, which were the main support for the chassis, in the An-225 their number increased to seven. The tail unit for the possibility of transporting goods outside the body was made two-keel.
Presentation
The An-225 Mriya aircraft was presented to the Soviet public by the General Designer of the Antonov Bureau, P. V. Balabuev, on November 30, 1988. At the same time, engineers rolled out an airliner from the assembly shop for the first time. A few days later, the car performed its first maneuvers at the plant's airfield, namely jogging at speeds up to 200 km / h, turns and lifting the front landing gear. On February 1, 1989, at the Boryspil airport, it was shown to foreign experts and journalists for the first time.
First takeoff
Initially, the designers planned to make their debut flight into the air on December 20, 1988. However, due to bad weather conditions (strong winds and low clouds) this event waspostponed. The situation was similar the next day. Despite this, after a run of 950 meters, the ship easily took off from the ground and began to climb. The first flight of the liner lasted 1 hour and 14 minutes. The main thing that the designers of the An-225 "Mriya" wanted to determine during it was the characteristics of the ship's control system, as well as the correctness and reliability of the onboard equipment. In addition, the engineers needed to clarify the aerodynamic corrections of the machine. Based on the results of the flight, they came to the conclusion that all systems and components are operating in full accordance with the calculated data. On December 28, 1988, the liner completed another test flight.
Records
On March 22, 1989, a very unusual flight of the Mriya aircraft (An-225) was scheduled. The technical characteristics of the liner gave all the prerequisites for breaking several world records. In preparation for this event, many specialists took an active part - testers, designers, technicians, engineers and pilots. After the commission weighting of the cargo, the mass of which was 156.3 tons, the filler necks of the fuel tanks were sealed. Further, the ship took off into the air without any problems, and 45 minutes later it successfully landed. In this short period of time, the An-225 Mriya broke 110 world records. The previous achievement of the American Boeing 747-400 in such an indicator as the maximum take-off weight was exceeded by as much as 104 tons. The experts' feedback testified that the An-225 has a great and bright future.
Achievement of the main goal
Whateverwas, setting world records was far from the main goal in the construction of new items. As noted above, the goal of the aircraft was the external transportation of the Buran space complex. The liner made its first flight with such a load on its “back” on May 13, 1989, when it delivered it to the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The crew, led by A. Galunenko, managed to check the controllability of the ship with Buran on board, as well as measure fuel consumption and flight speed in various conditions. Ten days after that, the plane made a direct flight on the Baikonur-Kyiv route. The distance of 2700 kilometers in this case was covered in 4 hours and 25 minutes. A photo of the largest aircraft on the planet with Buran on board is shown below.
First commercial flight
The An-225 made its debut commercial flight in May 1990. Then the airliner transported a special tractor "T-800" (its weight was more than 100 tons) from Chelyabinsk to Yakutia. After he landed at the airport, he was immediately surrounded by an enthusiastic crowd. It should be noted that this expedition was far from accidental. It was of great importance not so much for the national economy of the country as it carried the goal of testing the transport capabilities of the aircraft in such difficult conditions as in the Arctic. Based on the results, the designers conducted a number of useful studies and made valuable conclusions.
Key Features
One of the main advantages of the Mriya aircraft (An-225) istechnical characteristics and flight data. The liner is equipped with six turbojet engines, which are called D-18T. The weight of each of them exceeds the mark of four tons. Their total thrust is 1377 kN, which is an unprecedented value before. During takeoff, each of them develops power, which is 12,500 horsepower. The wingspan of this aircraft is 88.4 meters, while the area is 905 square meters. As for the dimensions, its length and height are 84 and 18.1 meters, respectively.
The cruising speed of An-225 is set at 850 km/h. Provided that the fuel tanks are fully refueled, the ship is capable of traveling 15,000 kilometers when empty and 4,500 kilometers with a maximum load. The payload of an airliner is 250 tons. At the same time, it is capable of flying at an altitude of up to 11 thousand meters. As for the requirements for the runway, its minimum length should be 3 kilometers. The fuel consumption of the machine is almost 16 tons per hour (when operating at cruising speed and with a full load).
Opportunities
The aircraft is capable of direct intracontinental transportation of goods weighing up to 200 tons, as well as intercontinental transportation of goods weighing up to 150 tons. Outside, on the fuselage, large-sized elements that weigh up to 200 tons can be transported by aircraft. The cargo compartment of the An-225 is quite roomy. ATIn particular, 16 UAK-10 universal aviation containers (10 tons each), 50 passenger cars or monocargoes weighing up to 200 tons (dump trucks, generators, turbines, etc.) will easily fit inside the fuselage. For loading and unloading, the model is equipped with a whole complex, which includes four lifting mechanisms with a lifting capacity of five tons. In addition, the ship's designers provided for two winches.
Crew
An-225 Mriya aircraft is controlled by a crew of six people. In order to facilitate access to the cockpit, the seats of the first and second pilots are equipped with a whole system of adjustments and are able to rotate. Behind them is the workplace of a navigation and communications specialist. On the right in the cockpit are the seats of onboard engineers. It should be noted that a room for a reserve crew is provided inside the airliner. In the main cabin, a total of six seats are equipped, and in the auxiliary cabin - twelve. In order to become a crew commander of this machine, the pilot must have at least five years of experience in managing the An-124 Ruslan model.
Avionics
The avionics of the An-225 Mriya model includes an automatic flight performance control system, as well as a display with a dynamic map. At the same time, electronic monitors that are intended for electronic control are absent here. The nose compartment is divided into two dielectric zones. They are designed to provide protection for the ground navigation radar, as well as the radar system.forward view. In the role of backup instruments here are the altitude indicator and the attitude indicator. In addition, the cockpit has an indicator of the position of the fuel levers, thrust indicators of power plants, sensors for the deviation of take-off and landing devices and control surfaces.
Rebirth
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the largest aircraft in the world turned out to be useless. In 1994, his flights were discontinued. Moreover, the engines and other equipment were removed from it in general for the purpose of further use in Ruslans. Be that as it may, every year the need for resuscitation of the project called "Mriya" was felt more and more: large aircraft from other leading world manufacturers were unable to cope with the tasks that only the An-225 model could do. As a result, the designers have finalized the liner in order to ensure its compliance with existing standards in civil aviation.
May 7, 2001 is considered the second birthday of Mriya. It was then, after a series of runs, turns and tests, the liner took off again. The designation UR-82060 was applied on board, and the crew was led by pilot A. V. Galunenko. The car spent about fifteen minutes in the air, after which it landed safely. May 23, 2011 the ship received all the necessary certificates, including international ones. This allows it to be used for commercial transport of goods.
Second copy
From the very beginning of the construction of the An-225 Mriya aircraft, it was planned to create twocopies. Despite this, the second car was never completed. The reason for this was the lack of proper funding for the project. Currently, it is located on the territory of the Antonov plant. Experts estimate the overall degree of its readiness at 70 percent. More specifically, the fuselage, one wing and the center section have remained since Soviet times. According to the designers, it is quite possible to finish building this car, but this requires a sum of money, which is about 150 million US dollars. This is possible only when a customer or sponsor appears.
Some features of the Mriya aircraft
In order to ensure safety during flight, the center of gravity of this airliner with cargo must be placed along the length within certain limits. In this regard, loading is carried out in accordance with the instructions. Checking the correctness of this process is the responsibility of the co-pilot. A carrier from other manufacturers cannot be used to transport this vessel, so its own copy of this device is transported on board. This is a heavy transport aircraft, due to the huge weight of the machine, chassis marks always remain on the pavement. At the same time, the cost of one of their tires starts at one thousand US dollars.
