The most lifting aircraft An-225 "Dream"
Recently, in Habré began to show interest in the ambitious projects created in the USSR.
An-225 "Mriya" (from the Ukrainian. - Dream) is one of the most famous offspring of the Soviet defense industry.
The USSR was the largest country in the world in size, as a result of which it needed heavy transport workers like no other.
The country's leadership linked the economic development of the country with the massive development of Siberia, the Far East and the Far North, which required the delivery to these areas of heavy oversized cargo: nuclear reactors for nuclear power plants under construction, distillation columns for petrochemical plants, giant turbines and other components of power plants. This turned each transportation into a unique transport operation, often requiring road reconstruction, rebuilding of bridges and ramps.
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As a result, the M-52 project was developed, which embodied part of its characteristics in a highly specialized An-225.
The prerequisite for the creation of the An-225 served as another unique giant of the twentieth century "Buran"
Since there were no analogues to such an aircraft, its An-124 Ruslan was taken as a basis.
The development of the An-225 was required in a short time. About 3 years should have passed from the start of development work to the first flight.
It was born in the advanced design department. The first sketches of the new aircraft appeared in the perspective design department, which O. Bogdanov supervised in the second half of 1983, and by the summer of the next, the appearance of the car had already been formed.
The main differences of the more massive older brother from "Ruslan"
While maintaining the cross section of the fuselage, its length was increased by 7 m. The fuselage was extended by inserting additional sections into a zone of constant cross section, with attachment points for external weights mounted on its upper surface.
Since the load on the rear fuselage increased sharply, it was proposed to remove the cargo hatch from there. The number of engines increased to 6. At the same time, the wing span was increased. The concept of the future of the An-225 acquired the final appearance under the leadership of P.V. Balabuyev, who since 1984 headed the OKB.
To ensure the possibility of transporting bulky cargo "on the back" on the plane installed two-tail vertical tail.
The electro-remote control system, created for Ruslan, was also used in Dream. Despite the fact that the dynamics of the flight "Dream" is completely different, it only took to make changes in the software on-board computers. Two dielectric zones in the nose cone protect meteorological radar for forward vision and ground survey / navigation radar.
The aircraft was equipped with navigation radar, analogue four-channel EDSU, radar, quadruple INS, Loran and Omega radio navigation systems.
Due to the very large dimensions of the aircraft there were problems with the assembly, since in the USSR there was not one hangar capable of holding such a giant.
And its dimensions are truly impressive.
An-225 was born on November 30, 1988.
Already on December 3 and 4, the plane made its first independent steps at the factory airfield in Svyatoshino: taxiing, turning and jogging, up to a speed of 200 km / h with the rise of the front landing gear.
On the first flight of December 21, 1988, which lasted 1 hour and 14 minutes, the characteristics of stability and controllability of the new aircraft were traditionally determined, various aerodynamic corrections were refined, and the work of the onboard systems and equipment was checked. The flight revealed the full compliance of the real characteristics of the An-225 with the calculated ones and the identity of the real behavior of the aircraft in the air previously modeled on the stand. Everything went so well that the honored test pilot of the USSR AVGalunenko told the journalists after the flight: Well, absolutely no comments. Everything is fine. The designers are suitable, and we are to them: if you continue to make such aircraft, the services of test pilots will simply not be required .
March 22 was one of the most significant days in the history of the An-225. He flew to beat world records. After a thorough weighing of the cargo, the weight of which amounted to 156.3 tons, and sealing the necks of the centralized refueling, the “Dream” rose into the air. The countdown of the highest achievements began immediately after taking off the ground. Having entered into a rivalry with the American "Boeing 747-400", which then owned the record of maximum take-off weight (404.8 tons), the An-225 blocked this achievement immediately by 104 tons. In that flight, not 106 was set, as expected, but 110 world records at once! Including the speed record of the flight on a closed route 2000 km long with a load of 155 tons - 815.09 km / h, a record of the height of the flight with this cargo - 12,430 m. After 3 hours and 45 minutes the “Dream” landed.
During a short stop in Kiev, thousands of people came to see the startling combination of two huge aircraft. Photos taken during the flight, put, perhaps, all the newspapers and magazines of the USSR.
In August 1989, the plane departs at an air show in Vancouver (Canada). Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, seeing the flight of the An-225, said that "the Soviet aviators, who arrived in Canada on their planes, gave us a holiday." In September, “Dream” visits Prague and is demonstrated at the Exhibition of CMEA countries.
The following year, the aircraft participates in the aerospace show in Farnborough (UK) and in two American air shows: in Oklahoma City and in Seattle. The world's largest aircraft attracted the attention of a huge number of Americans. As the participants of those flights recall, probably in all the States in those days there was not such a huge queue that stretched to the An-225 fuselage; so many were willing to go on board. “We make the largest passenger aircraft in the world,” said Boeing representative Rick Haukinson. “But we bow to Antonov-225.”
In May 1990, the An-225, piloted by S.A. Gorbik and I.I.Bachurin, delivered a T-800 tractor from Chelyabinsk to Yakutia, weighing more than 110 tons. In the same year he made the first commercial flights.
In 1991, the plane visited Shannon (Ireland), in 1992 - Montreal (Canada), Columbos (USA) and Las Vegas (USA)
In 1994, the An-225 was laid up on the airfield of the OKB Design Bureau. O.K. Antonova in Gostomel. Time passed and it destroyed the plane. The subsequent fate of the giant seemed very uncertain, and gradually, engines began to be removed from it, separate units of onboard equipment and installed on Ruslana, which became the most important source of livelihood for the Antonov aviation complex. Fortunately, all these expensive units were quite suitable for both types of aircraft - another positive consequence of the decision to develop the An-225 based on the An-124.
It would have been a crime to bury such an aircraft construction miracle, so they began to think about alternative uses. There was, in particular, the project of reworking the An-225 into a superliner to transport 328 passengers with an ultra-high degree of comfort on airlines with a length of up to 9,700 km, for example, on the route London - Abu Dhabi-Singapore, Sydney. In the three-deck fuselage, it was planned to place sleeping coupes, usual passenger lounges, a shop, a restaurant and a casino. In this case, the aircraft was planned to be equipped with engines and airborne equipment produced by Western firms.
Good or bad, but none of these plans have been implemented.
In the summer of 2000, almost immediately after the completion of the An-140 certification testing program, restoration work began on the An-225. ASTC them. O.K.Antonova unwrapped them with his own money.
By mid-November, the diagnostics of the condition of the airframe and the aircraft systems was completed, most of the necessary parts and components of the equipment were manufactured, repaired or purchased, and the installation of the engines began. Along the way, was the modification of the An-225 in a full-fledged commercial aircraft that can fly around the world without restrictions.
Day May 7, 2001 entered the history of the aircraft, and the whole of Ukraine, and air cargo transportation in general. On this day, the "second first" take-off took place, if you like, the second birth of a giant.
Within a month, the An-225 performed about 20 test flights without any serious incidents, demonstrating a fairly high reliability and successfully completing the certification program.
It is noteworthy that one of the main roles in the episodes about the destruction of Las Vegas in the movie "2012" was played by the An-225 "Mriya"
A documentary about the most lifting aircraft in the world.
An-225 "Mriya" (from the Ukrainian. - Dream) is one of the most famous offspring of the Soviet defense industry.
How it all began.
The USSR was the largest country in the world in size, as a result of which it needed heavy transport workers like no other.
The country's leadership linked the economic development of the country with the massive development of Siberia, the Far East and the Far North, which required the delivery to these areas of heavy oversized cargo: nuclear reactors for nuclear power plants under construction, distillation columns for petrochemical plants, giant turbines and other components of power plants. This turned each transportation into a unique transport operation, often requiring road reconstruction, rebuilding of bridges and ramps.
')
As a result, the M-52 project was developed, which embodied part of its characteristics in a highly specialized An-225.
The prerequisite for the creation of the An-225 served as another unique giant of the twentieth century "Buran"
The birth of a giant.
Since there were no analogues to such an aircraft, its An-124 Ruslan was taken as a basis.
The development of the An-225 was required in a short time. About 3 years should have passed from the start of development work to the first flight.
It was born in the advanced design department. The first sketches of the new aircraft appeared in the perspective design department, which O. Bogdanov supervised in the second half of 1983, and by the summer of the next, the appearance of the car had already been formed.
The main differences of the more massive older brother from "Ruslan"
While maintaining the cross section of the fuselage, its length was increased by 7 m. The fuselage was extended by inserting additional sections into a zone of constant cross section, with attachment points for external weights mounted on its upper surface.
Since the load on the rear fuselage increased sharply, it was proposed to remove the cargo hatch from there. The number of engines increased to 6. At the same time, the wing span was increased. The concept of the future of the An-225 acquired the final appearance under the leadership of P.V. Balabuyev, who since 1984 headed the OKB.
To ensure the possibility of transporting bulky cargo "on the back" on the plane installed two-tail vertical tail.
The electro-remote control system, created for Ruslan, was also used in Dream. Despite the fact that the dynamics of the flight "Dream" is completely different, it only took to make changes in the software on-board computers. Two dielectric zones in the nose cone protect meteorological radar for forward vision and ground survey / navigation radar.
The aircraft was equipped with navigation radar, analogue four-channel EDSU, radar, quadruple INS, Loran and Omega radio navigation systems.
Due to the very large dimensions of the aircraft there were problems with the assembly, since in the USSR there was not one hangar capable of holding such a giant.
And its dimensions are truly impressive.
Embodiment of life
An-225 was born on November 30, 1988.
Already on December 3 and 4, the plane made its first independent steps at the factory airfield in Svyatoshino: taxiing, turning and jogging, up to a speed of 200 km / h with the rise of the front landing gear.
On the first flight of December 21, 1988, which lasted 1 hour and 14 minutes, the characteristics of stability and controllability of the new aircraft were traditionally determined, various aerodynamic corrections were refined, and the work of the onboard systems and equipment was checked. The flight revealed the full compliance of the real characteristics of the An-225 with the calculated ones and the identity of the real behavior of the aircraft in the air previously modeled on the stand. Everything went so well that the honored test pilot of the USSR AVGalunenko told the journalists after the flight: Well, absolutely no comments. Everything is fine. The designers are suitable, and we are to them: if you continue to make such aircraft, the services of test pilots will simply not be required .
Specifications
- Year of adoption - 1988
- Wingspan - 88.4 m
- The length of the aircraft - 84.0 m
- The height of the aircraft - 18.2 m
- Wing area - 905 sq.m.
- Weight, kg
- an empty aircraft - 250000
- maximum take-off - 640000 - Internal fuel - 300,000 kg
- Engine type - 6 TVD Progress (Lotarev) D-18T
- Thrust - 6 x 23405 kgf
- Cruising speed - 800 km / h
- Practical range - 15600 km
- Range of action - 4500 km
- Practical ceiling - 11000 m
- Crew - 6-7 people
Finest hour
March 22 was one of the most significant days in the history of the An-225. He flew to beat world records. After a thorough weighing of the cargo, the weight of which amounted to 156.3 tons, and sealing the necks of the centralized refueling, the “Dream” rose into the air. The countdown of the highest achievements began immediately after taking off the ground. Having entered into a rivalry with the American "Boeing 747-400", which then owned the record of maximum take-off weight (404.8 tons), the An-225 blocked this achievement immediately by 104 tons. In that flight, not 106 was set, as expected, but 110 world records at once! Including the speed record of the flight on a closed route 2000 km long with a load of 155 tons - 815.09 km / h, a record of the height of the flight with this cargo - 12,430 m. After 3 hours and 45 minutes the “Dream” landed.
During a short stop in Kiev, thousands of people came to see the startling combination of two huge aircraft. Photos taken during the flight, put, perhaps, all the newspapers and magazines of the USSR.
Triumph
In August 1989, the plane departs at an air show in Vancouver (Canada). Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, seeing the flight of the An-225, said that "the Soviet aviators, who arrived in Canada on their planes, gave us a holiday." In September, “Dream” visits Prague and is demonstrated at the Exhibition of CMEA countries.
The following year, the aircraft participates in the aerospace show in Farnborough (UK) and in two American air shows: in Oklahoma City and in Seattle. The world's largest aircraft attracted the attention of a huge number of Americans. As the participants of those flights recall, probably in all the States in those days there was not such a huge queue that stretched to the An-225 fuselage; so many were willing to go on board. “We make the largest passenger aircraft in the world,” said Boeing representative Rick Haukinson. “But we bow to Antonov-225.”
In May 1990, the An-225, piloted by S.A. Gorbik and I.I.Bachurin, delivered a T-800 tractor from Chelyabinsk to Yakutia, weighing more than 110 tons. In the same year he made the first commercial flights.
In 1991, the plane visited Shannon (Ireland), in 1992 - Montreal (Canada), Columbos (USA) and Las Vegas (USA)
Oblivion
In 1994, the An-225 was laid up on the airfield of the OKB Design Bureau. O.K. Antonova in Gostomel. Time passed and it destroyed the plane. The subsequent fate of the giant seemed very uncertain, and gradually, engines began to be removed from it, separate units of onboard equipment and installed on Ruslana, which became the most important source of livelihood for the Antonov aviation complex. Fortunately, all these expensive units were quite suitable for both types of aircraft - another positive consequence of the decision to develop the An-225 based on the An-124.
Second Life
It would have been a crime to bury such an aircraft construction miracle, so they began to think about alternative uses. There was, in particular, the project of reworking the An-225 into a superliner to transport 328 passengers with an ultra-high degree of comfort on airlines with a length of up to 9,700 km, for example, on the route London - Abu Dhabi-Singapore, Sydney. In the three-deck fuselage, it was planned to place sleeping coupes, usual passenger lounges, a shop, a restaurant and a casino. In this case, the aircraft was planned to be equipped with engines and airborne equipment produced by Western firms.
Good or bad, but none of these plans have been implemented.
In the summer of 2000, almost immediately after the completion of the An-140 certification testing program, restoration work began on the An-225. ASTC them. O.K.Antonova unwrapped them with his own money.
By mid-November, the diagnostics of the condition of the airframe and the aircraft systems was completed, most of the necessary parts and components of the equipment were manufactured, repaired or purchased, and the installation of the engines began. Along the way, was the modification of the An-225 in a full-fledged commercial aircraft that can fly around the world without restrictions.
Day May 7, 2001 entered the history of the aircraft, and the whole of Ukraine, and air cargo transportation in general. On this day, the "second first" take-off took place, if you like, the second birth of a giant.
Within a month, the An-225 performed about 20 test flights without any serious incidents, demonstrating a fairly high reliability and successfully completing the certification program.
Aircraft modifications
- An-225 - a prototype. Made 2 aircraft. First flight December 21, 1988.
- An-225-100 - civilian transport aircraft. Differs in the composition of the equipment, reinforced cargo compartment floor, converted from the first prototype.
It is noteworthy that one of the main roles in the episodes about the destruction of Las Vegas in the movie "2012" was played by the An-225 "Mriya"
A documentary about the most lifting aircraft in the world.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/87355/
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