4 ms·

I have been inside this airplane and I've got some pics to share: https://egorfine.com/photo/mriya/ https://egorfine.com/photo/mriya/

c0nsumer 6y ago
Off topic, but I wanted to say thank-you. I've recently had to move away from an antiquated Gallery2 install, and these photos had me wondering how you were hosting a personal gallery. This led me to Juicebox which seems super-cool and perfect for meeting a lingering need. Thank you!
- egorfine 6y ago
  Although there were no updates to Juicebox for quite a time... :-(
  - c0nsumer 6y ago
    Does it really need any? It seems to work just fine.
GoblinSlayer 6y ago
Looks like Nostromo: big, old, dark, messy spaceship.
- baybal2 6y ago
  Think of it, that entire electronic automation suite on board can be now replaced with a single 1$ smartphone chipset.
ben7799 6y ago
Thanks for this.. killer photos.. Was this at an airshow? Was someone following you around to make sure you didn't pull on any wires or anything you weren't supposed to be touching?
- myself248 6y ago
  The last photo in the deck shows the plane with an engine removed; this makes me think the photos were taken during maintenance.
- egorfine 6y ago
  Shot during maintenance as many places you see are not accessible at all. Like, the booster systems are not human-accessible unless you are willing to disassemble part of the plane or crawl inside a very small and dark tube.
shadowprofile77 6y ago
Great shots. I love interior photos of old military planes and for many of them, what's available is sorely lacking in quality, detailed exploration or perspective. Yours are a fine contrast to those tendencies. The spare tires had me wondering though. I mean, if one were to blow upon landing, wouldn't that be such a disaster that having a spare inside the plane becomes sort of irrelevant? Or does the AN-225 have so many wheels (which I suspect given its huge size) that it could indeed blow a couple and still continue landing stably enough for a spare to be useful afterwards? On the other hand, in the air I assume they can hardly replace them and why would they blow while retracted anyhow? No expert but those images in particular sparked some extra curiosity.
- nuccy 6y ago
  There is a nice video listed below with a pilot of this plane (in russian but with decent english subtitles), he answers to this question. Wheels indeed deflate (not blow) occasionally, this happens when breaks overheat and special thermal plate (at 200C) melts and deflates the wheel gradually, which works as an indicator of overheated break/tyre. Since it happens gradually, there is no danger for the plane itself. The parts for this plane are not that common (they may be shared with An-124 though), so apparently it is easier to carry few wheels than wait for their delivery. The plane caries 10 m.tons of equipment anyway just to load/unload the cargo, so few wheels probably are not that much of a deal.
- egorfine 6y ago
  They have to carry lots of spare parts due to uniqueness of the plane. Replacement of tires is a routine job; much more cumbersome is her aircraft tow bar. It has to be unloaded from her prior to towing, but it can be unloaded only through the main cargo door. This is why Mriya may occupy the landing strip for half an hour before it can be towed. A major pain.

c0nsumer 6y ago

Off topic, but I wanted to say thank-you. I've recently had to move away from an antiquated Gallery2 install, and these photos had me wondering how you were hosting a personal gallery. This led me to Juicebox which seems super-cool and perfect for meeting a lingering need. Thank you!

egorfine 6y ago
Although there were no updates to Juicebox for quite a time... :-(
- c0nsumer 6y ago
  Does it really need any? It seems to work just fine.

GoblinSlayer 6y ago

Looks like Nostromo: big, old, dark, messy spaceship.

baybal2 6y ago
Think of it, that entire electronic automation suite on board can be now replaced with a single 1$ smartphone chipset.

ben7799 6y ago

Thanks for this.. killer photos.. Was this at an airshow? Was someone following you around to make sure you didn't pull on any wires or anything you weren't supposed to be touching?

myself248 6y ago
The last photo in the deck shows the plane with an engine removed; this makes me think the photos were taken during maintenance.
egorfine 6y ago
Shot during maintenance as many places you see are not accessible at all. Like, the booster systems are not human-accessible unless you are willing to disassemble part of the plane or crawl inside a very small and dark tube.

shadowprofile77 6y ago

Great shots. I love interior photos of old military planes and for many of them, what's available is sorely lacking in quality, detailed exploration or perspective. Yours are a fine contrast to those tendencies. The spare tires had me wondering though. I mean, if one were to blow upon landing, wouldn't that be such a disaster that having a spare inside the plane becomes sort of irrelevant? Or does the AN-225 have so many wheels (which I suspect given its huge size) that it could indeed blow a couple and still continue landing stably enough for a spare to be useful afterwards? On the other hand, in the air I assume they can hardly replace them and why would they blow while retracted anyhow? No expert but those images in particular sparked some extra curiosity.

nuccy 6y ago
There is a nice video listed below with a pilot of this plane (in russian but with decent english subtitles), he answers to this question. Wheels indeed deflate (not blow) occasionally, this happens when breaks overheat and special thermal plate (at 200C) melts and deflates the wheel gradually, which works as an indicator of overheated break/tyre. Since it happens gradually, there is no danger for the plane itself. The parts for this plane are not that common (they may be shared with An-124 though), so apparently it is easier to carry few wheels than wait for their delivery. The plane caries 10 m.tons of equipment anyway just to load/unload the cargo, so few wheels probably are not that much of a deal.
egorfine 6y ago
They have to carry lots of spare parts due to uniqueness of the plane. Replacement of tires is a routine job; much more cumbersome is her aircraft tow bar. It has to be unloaded from her prior to towing, but it can be unloaded only through the main cargo door. This is why Mriya may occupy the landing strip for half an hour before it can be towed. A major pain.