“Mriya” (full name An-225 “Mriya”) is the largest transport aircraft not only in Ukraine, but also in the whole world. During his short existence, he won more than 200 records, for which he was entered into the Guinness Book of Records.
The largest aircraft “Mriya” was created to meet transport needs in the space industry back in 1988. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, he participated in many air shows, performed commercial flights transporting unusually large cargo, transported humanitarian aid to Iraq and military supplies to the Middle East.
Unfortunately, on the third day after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, on February 27, 2022, as a result of an attack on the airport near Gostomel (where the An-225 was at that time), the “Mriya” plane was destroyed by the occupiers. It became one of the biggest losses in those days for our country. But we will definitely rebuild it, because the Muscovites can take away our plane, but they will not take away our dream!
11 interesting facts about the plane “Mriya”
An-225 “Mriya” is a Ukrainian aircraft that is truly worth being proud of. We have prepared for you some interesting facts about this giant:
- As we mentioned above, the purpose of creating the An-225 aircraft is to transport cargo for the space industry. However, it was never used for its intended purpose. The fact is that at the time of completion of the construction of “Mriya”, all transportation was already carried out by another aircraft – VM-T “Atlant”.
- An-225 “Mriya” made its first experimental flight on December 21, 1988. And in March of the following year, it took off with a maximum load of more than 500,000 kilograms. And this is just one of the many records of this glorious plane.
- In 2009, in the film “2012” directed by Roland Emmerich, the plane “Dream” played one of the key roles in the episode about the destruction of Las Vegas. For the first time in history, a computer model of the largest Ukrainian aircraft An-225 was created by special order of the creators of the film.
- In addition to the film by Roland Emmerich, the plane “Dream” also appeared in one of the scenes of the anime “The End of Evangelion”. The name of the Ukrainian plane can be seen in its tail part. It is interesting that in the film there is a modification for launching combat missiles (although in reality such a modification does not exist).
- Of all its achievements, the “Mriya” plane has an interesting record for transporting the longest luggage in the entire history of air transportation. On June 10, 2010, by order of the GEODIS WILSON A/S company, An-225 transported 2 blades for a windmill, the length of each of which was 42.1 m, from China to Denmark.
- The longest distance covered by the An-225 aircraft in one transport is about 15 thousand kilometers (from the Czech Republic to Australia). The whole trip took 5 days. This is due to the fact that in each country the plane made stops for 1-2 days to communicate with journalists. If it was an urgent transportation, An-225 would take only 2 days.
- The length of the “Mriya” plane is 84 m, the height is 18.1 m, and the wingspan is 88.4 m. The total weight of the plane without load is 240 tons. Despite its huge dimensions, an unloaded An-225 requires a runway only 1.2 kilometers long to take off and land. For a fully loaded one – 3.5 kilometers (which is within the standard length of the runway – 3.6 kilometers).
- It is common knowledge that the maximum weight of cargo that can be transported by the “Dream” plane is 250 tons. However, few people know that An-225 can transport cargo not only in the luggage compartment, but also on the “roof”. For this purpose, special fasteners for external transportation are designed on the upper part of the aircraft fuselage. But during its existence, these fasteners were never used. The fact is that for this type of transportation, the luggage must have appropriate aerodynamics (for example, another plane).
- As you already know, the Mriya plane was not used for its intended purpose. Moreover, on September 27, 2012, an exhibition of 500 paintings by 90 artists was organized on board. At that time, the An-225 was at an altitude of 10,500 meters above the ground! Thus, this event became the highest picture show, which is listed in the Guinness Book of Records.
- Ukrainian “Mriya” is not just an airplane. This is a symbol of what Ukrainians are capable of. After the destruction of the An-225, the President’s Office announced the construction of a new “Mriya” aircraft. And Ukrposhta issued a new postage stamp dedicated to the legendary plane. By the way, the author of the illustration depicted on the stamp was 11-year-old Sofia Kravchuk from the Volyn region.
- An-225 “Mriya” is not the only largest transport aircraft that was planned to be built in the last century. There is another such specimen at the Antonov plant. What is true, it is only 70% ready. It will take several years and 300 million dollars for its full completion.
What fact about An-225 “Mria” impressed you the most? Write in the comments:
