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From wikipedia: > The Antonov An-225 Mriya (Ukrainian: Антонов Ан-225 Мрія, lit. ''dream' or 'inspiration''; NATO reporting name: Cossack) was a strategic airl

From wikipedia: > The Antonov An-225 Mriya (Ukrainian: Антонов Ан-225 Мрія, lit. ''dream' or 'inspiration''; NATO reporting name: Cossack) was a strategic airlift cargo aircraft designed in the 1980s by the Antonov Design Bureau in Soviet Ukraine. It was originally developed as an enlargement of the Antonov An-124 to transport Buran-class orbiters, and only one example was ever completed. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonov_An-225_Mriya https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonov_An-225_Mriya

thematrixturtle 5y ago
It was also by a fair margin the largest plane actively flying when measured by weight (285T empty, 640T fully loaded), wingspan (88m) or even number of engines (6).
- jpgvm 5y ago
  At GTW of 640T it could support up to 260T of multi-item cargo or 190T single item payloads, truly in a class of it's own. Even Boeing and Airbus internal transports pale in comparison. RIP beautiful bird.
  - m2fkxy 5y ago
    Boeing and Airbus freighters being a pale comparison is not surprising. They are optimised for cargo volume, much less weight. Comparing the Mrija to heavy military airlifters (Ruslan, Galaxy, Globemaster III...) would make more sense. The impressive thing about the Mrija is that it's both good at lifting volume (over-wing transport) and weight.
    - masklinn 5y ago
      > They are optimised for cargo volume, much less weight. An other interesting bit is Mriya’s hold was pressurised (though apparently relatively low, it was not a plane for paras), neither dreamlifter nor beluga have pressurised holds. > Comparing the Mrija to heavy military airlifters (Ruslan, Galaxy, Globemaster III...) would make more sense. It still dwarfs them all since it’s an enlarged version of the Ruslan (124). It could carry almost twice the weight a 124 can.
- billfruit 5y ago
  Doesn't the B52, a much smaller aircraft have 8 engines.
  - MaKey 5y ago
    Yes, it does. It's not that obvious though as they are grouped in pairs of two.
  - Aeolun 5y ago
    They’re much smaller engines though.
  - sidewndr46 5y ago
    I must mention that the B-36 had a whopping 10 engines, a mixture of both jet engines and piston driven engines https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convair_B-36_Peacemaker#Specifications_(B-36J-III) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convair_B-36_Peacemaker#Specif...
    - protomyth 5y ago
      B-36 slogan of "six turnin' and four burnin'" - transition aircraft are some amazing pieces of work.
p_l 5y ago
It wasn't designed for transporting just Buran, but all sorts of rocket parts that exceeded Soviet rail loading gauge, which was limiting factor in transport between Moscow and Kharkiv, where they were built, to Baikonur where final assembly happened.

thematrixturtle 5y ago

It was also by a fair margin the largest plane actively flying when measured by weight (285T empty, 640T fully loaded), wingspan (88m) or even number of engines (6).

jpgvm 5y ago
At GTW of 640T it could support up to 260T of multi-item cargo or 190T single item payloads, truly in a class of it's own. Even Boeing and Airbus internal transports pale in comparison. RIP beautiful bird.
- m2fkxy 5y ago
  Boeing and Airbus freighters being a pale comparison is not surprising. They are optimised for cargo volume, much less weight. Comparing the Mrija to heavy military airlifters (Ruslan, Galaxy, Globemaster III...) would make more sense. The impressive thing about the Mrija is that it's both good at lifting volume (over-wing transport) and weight.
  - masklinn 5y ago
    > They are optimised for cargo volume, much less weight. An other interesting bit is Mriya’s hold was pressurised (though apparently relatively low, it was not a plane for paras), neither dreamlifter nor beluga have pressurised holds. > Comparing the Mrija to heavy military airlifters (Ruslan, Galaxy, Globemaster III...) would make more sense. It still dwarfs them all since it’s an enlarged version of the Ruslan (124). It could carry almost twice the weight a 124 can.
billfruit 5y ago
Doesn't the B52, a much smaller aircraft have 8 engines.
- MaKey 5y ago
  Yes, it does. It's not that obvious though as they are grouped in pairs of two.
- Aeolun 5y ago
  They’re much smaller engines though.
- sidewndr46 5y ago
  I must mention that the B-36 had a whopping 10 engines, a mixture of both jet engines and piston driven engines https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convair_B-36_Peacemaker#Specifications_(B-36J-III) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convair_B-36_Peacemaker#Specif...
  - protomyth 5y ago
    B-36 slogan of "six turnin' and four burnin'" - transition aircraft are some amazing pieces of work.

p_l 5y ago

It wasn't designed for transporting just Buran, but all sorts of rocket parts that exceeded Soviet rail loading gauge, which was limiting factor in transport between Moscow and Kharkiv, where they were built, to Baikonur where final assembly happened.