Antonov An-225 Mriya - Operational History

Operational History

In the late 1970s, efforts were begun by the Soviet government to generate revenue from its military assets. In 1989, a holding company was set up by the Antonov Design Bureau as a heavy airlift shipping corporation under the name "Antonov Airlines", based in Kiev, Ukraine and operating from London Luton Airport in partnership with Air Foyle HeavyLift.

As the Soviet space program was in its last years, the An-225 was employed as the prime method of transporting the Buran Shuttle.

The company initiated operations with a fleet of four An-124-100s and three Antonov An-12s, but by the late 1990s a need for aircraft larger than the An-124 became apparent. In response, the original An-225 was re-engined, modified for heavy cargo transport, and placed back in service under the management of Antonov Airlines.

On 23 May 2001, the An-225 received its type certificate from the Interstate Aviation Committee Aviation Register (IAC AR). In September 2001, carrying 4 main battle tanks at a record load of 253.82 tonnes (279.79 short tons) of cargo, the An-225 flew at an altitude of 2 km (6,600 ft) over a closed circuit of 1,000 km (620 mi) at a speed of 763.2 km/h (474.2 mph).

The type's first flight in commercial service departed from Stuttgart, Germany on 3 January 2002, and flew to Thumrait, Oman with 216,000 prepared meals for American military personnel based in the region. This vast number of ready meals was transported on some 375 pallets and weighed 187.5 tons.

The An-225 has since become the workhorse of the Antonov Airlines fleet, transporting objects once thought impossible to move by air, such as locomotives and 150-ton generators. It has become an asset to international relief organizations for its ability to quickly transport huge quantities of emergency supplies during disaster relief operations.

The An-225 has been contracted by the Canadian and U.S. governments to transport military supplies to the Middle East in support of Coalition forces. In November 2004, FAI placed the An-225 in the Guinness Book of Records for its 240 records. An example of the cost of shipping cargo by An-225 was over 2 million DKK (approx. €266,000) for flying a chimney duct from Denmark to Kazakhstan in 2008.

On 11 August 2009, the heaviest single cargo item ever sent via air freight was loaded onto the Antonov 225. At 16.23 metres (53.2 ft) long and 4.27 metres (14.0 ft) wide, the consignment–a generator for a gas power plant in Armenia and its loading frame–weighed in at a record 189 tonnes (420,000 lb). Also during 2009, the An-225 was painted in a new blue and yellow paint scheme, after Antonov ceased cooperation with AirFoyle and partnered with Volga-Dnepr in 2006.

On 11 June 2010, the An-225 carried the world's longest piece of air cargo, when it flew two new 42-meter test wind turbine blades from Tianjin, China to Denmark.

On 29 September 2012, the An-225 carried 500 art pieces to a height of 10,150 metres, setting the world record for the highest altitude art gallery, during a maiden flight around Kiev, Ukraine at the Aviasvit XXI airshow.