RIP the "dream" plane

[David Hess]

and afaik the first one was only pulled out of storage and certified for flight after Antonov saw a need for something bigger than their An-124, they worked on finishing the second one some 15 years ago but stopped again

I saw the AN-124 back in 1988 and it was impressive enough:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air/Space_America_88

The Boeing STOL YC-14 was more amazing to watch though.  It took off and reached operating altitude within the length of the runway.

[james_s]

I saw the AN-124 back in 1988 and it was impressive enough:

I have seen several Volga Dnepr AN-124's fly directly over my house at about 5,000 feet as I'm right under one of the approach paths to Sea-Tac airport. I didn't know what it was until I looked at the flightradar24 app but I knew it was something BIG, the rumble rattled the walls.

[cdev]

Were they Ukrainian planes? I doubt if Russian aircraft are flying to the US right now, due to the current situation. But I could see Ukrainian planes flying here, perhaps to bring refugees here. Or to Canada.  Seattle would make sense as a destination, though, from the Eurasian continent. I am reminded of Fort Ross which is a park and historical monument on the Mendocino coast of California. Fort Ross in the past was an Imperial Russian outpost where the Tsar, (yes, its that old) had setup to trade with Native Americans for furs.

If any body is visiting the North Coast (of Calif) as a tourist its an interesting place to see. It dates back to the 19th century and its in quite good shape and well restored to the way it was then. I visited it in around 2006, it seems like it was only yesterday. I took lots of photos, thats probably why my memory of it is fresh.

[cdev]

I just posted a link to this, I should remove that post..

https://simpleflying.com/russian-volga-dnepr-antonov-an-124-impounded-canada/

Looks like its ultimate destination was Canada. where it was held up.

[james_s]

The last time one flew over was 6+ months ago so the current situation is irrelevant to that.

[chickenHeadKnob]

I just posted a link to this, I should remove that post..

https://simpleflying.com/russian-volga-dnepr-antonov-an-124-impounded-canada/

Looks like its ultimate destination was Canada. where it was held up.

After the break up of the Soviet Union I saw these quite often landing at Winnipeg. The operator said they liked Winnipeg because its an international airport that isn't too busy and it is in the center of the continent close to common great circle routes.

The first one I spotted made me do a double take, I thought holy shit that 747 is low... wait a minute that's no jumbo...

[ledtester]

Turkey might be interested in completing the 2nd An-225 airframe:

https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2022/01/sky-giant-turkey-mulls-to-complete.html

[Vovk_Z]

The chief pilot seems to be Dymtro Antonov, is this just a coincidence or is he descended from the family?

As I know it is a coincidence. They are not relatives.

[ledtester]

An indication of how proud the Ukrainians are of that plane:

https://toys-kopitsa.com.ua/vse-bude-ukrayina/mriya

[Nusa]

Or perhaps an indication that Javelin missiles are more popular than the plane?

Really need to see sales figures for an actual indication, of course.

[Vovk_Z]

Or perhaps an indication that Javelin missiles are more popular than the plane?

At the moment (real) Javelines are much-much more popular in Ukraine than the plane, for the known reasons. This is a sad truth. I know people who used names "Javelin" and "Bayraktar" for their pets.
Another sad joke about Javelines topic is the song "All you need is NLAW, NLAW. NLAW is all you need."

[cdev]

The large cargo carrying Antonov is certainly useful to have in emergencies.

Also, so many people hated to see such a capable plane so shamelessly and brutally destroyed. We all appreciate the tradition and accomplishment it represented.

Its like Ukraine and Russia represent two faces one of good one of evil, of the old USSR. The good side is the one of science. Family, and helping one another. The bad side is the side of dishonesty, repression, and fear/terror.


There is a second AN-225 airframe? Why wasnt it finished?

https://simpleflying.com/second-antonov-an-225-finished/

[cdev]

An indication of how proud the Ukrainians are of that plane:

https://toys-kopitsa.com.ua/vse-bude-ukrayina/mriya

They should set up a campaign to help fund the reconstruction of the planes. They could help it by selling plushies.

[SiliconWizard]

Nice:

[HuronKing]

There is a second AN-225 airframe? Why wasnt it finished?

https://simpleflying.com/second-antonov-an-225-finished/

Cost to complete and long-term operating expense. You'd need to have more spare parts in stock, regular maintenance plan, trained crew, and enough demand from the market to sustain.

I suspect the need for the plane wasn't SO great that they couldn't get away with just using 1 to meet global demand for heavy lifts and utilizing the 2nd airframe for spares.

[Nusa]

There is a second AN-225 airframe? Why wasnt it finished?

https://simpleflying.com/second-antonov-an-225-finished/

Cost to complete and long-term operating expense. You'd need to have more spare parts in stock, regular maintenance plan, trained crew, and enough demand from the market to sustain.

I suspect the need for the plane wasn't SO great that they couldn't get away with just using 1 to meet global demand for heavy lifts and utilizing the 2nd airframe for spares.

The need was so great even the first one was mothballed for most of the 1990's for lack of purpose. The second one was never finished because it never made economic sense to potential financial backers to spend a very large sum to finish it.

[cdev]

$9.95 an hour is so little no wonder they didn't get decent plushie programmers for that. Not even from India.  How could they ever?

[Black Phoenix]

There is a second AN-225 airframe? Why wasnt it finished?

https://simpleflying.com/second-antonov-an-225-finished/

Cost to complete and long-term operating expense. You'd need to have more spare parts in stock, regular maintenance plan, trained crew, and enough demand from the market to sustain.

I suspect the need for the plane wasn't SO great that they couldn't get away with just using 1 to meet global demand for heavy lifts and utilizing the 2nd airframe for spares.

The need was so great even the first one was mothballed for most of the 1990's for lack of purpose. The second one was never finished because it never made economic sense to potential financial backers to spend a very large sum to finish it.

Kinda like the A380 project. When it started to be developed the outlook was different of now. Now most of them are being decommissioned because they are too big, the flying industry and customers changed their approach in how flights and people move around.

Airbus released their Neo series, who basically are old models but with aerodynamic and mechanical improvements for fuel saving and extra range, companies fly their airplanes slower than in the 90s, customers look for the cheapest flight possible, don't care if they have to make 2 or 3 stopovers for the cheapest possible.

Then you got the increase of prices of fuel, low cost companies who undercut most of the big ones by having everything as optional and extra on the ticket. Wanna some water while on board, pay extra. Want to have a bulk luggage? Pay. I remember even reading that some wanted to start charging the use of the toilets...

Concorde? Airbus Beluga? Antonov AN-225? Airbus A380? All past glories of ingenuity and proof that men are capable of the biggest engineering marvels.

[SiliconWizard]

The A380 is an example of not quite good fit to actual market indeed, but there's still a wide gap with something like the AN-225. The A380 while not being a completely right fit certainly had a lot of potential uses. The AN-225 never had a lot of uses to begin with.

And, I don't know what you're talking about when mentioning the Beluga. It's still useful and operating. Absolutely not "past glory".

[james_s]

There are not a lot of uses for the AN-225 which is why there were never a lot of them built, but there are uses, for which nothing else will do. I don't think there will ever be a need for a large fleet of them but one or two could certainly be useful.

[Black Phoenix]

And, I don't know what you're talking about when mentioning the Beluga. It's still useful and operating. Absolutely not "past glory".

Yes, only five of the original model were build and are used by Airbus to transport parts for their own assembly lines.

Current model is the Beluga XL. My mistake since I remember reading about their production stop, the low units build but didn't know it had a replacement.

Well its an airplane in the same situation than the Antonov, but this one at least kinda have a purpose for it.

[cdev]

There are not a lot of uses for the AN-225 which is why there were never a lot of them built, but there are uses, for which nothing else will do. I don't think there will ever be a need for a large fleet of them but one or two could certainly be useful.

They will hold a large shipment of the kinds of goods that one might ship to countries in emergencies... And I think they need less of a runway.


Certain kinds of shipments are more expensive than they should be because of the lack of a high capacity shipping ability to non-major airports

[ledtester]

Update on the AN-225:

The SSU is investigating the involvement of the Antonov State Enterprise management in the destruction of the AN-225 “Mriya”

https://mil.in.ua/en/news/the-ssu-is-investigating-the-involvement-of-the-antonov-state-enterprise-management-in-the-destruction-of-the-an-225-mriya/

[SiliconWizard]

 

[magic]

Some manager expected more profit from insurance than keeping a 40 year old machine in working order?