If you ever get into a trivia contest in a bar or other location that requires you to display your vast knowledge, keep this information in mind.
When and if the subject gets around to the world’s largest aircraft, remember that the Antonov An-225 Mriya (Dream or Inspiration), also known as the “Cossack,” qualified as the longest and heaviest airplane ever built. Its original purpose was to ferry the Russian space shuttle. In the United States, that job was handled by a modified 747 – which looks like a Lear jet compared to the Cossack.
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Some facts about the world’s largest plane.
Wingspan: 290 feet.
Wing square footage: 9,740 square feet (nearly a quarter of an acre).
Length: 275 feet 7 inches.
Height: 59 feet 5 inches
Fuselage diameter: 63 feet.
Power plants: 6 Progress D-18T turbofan engines each putting out 51,000 pounds of thrust.
Built by Russia in 1988 as a military cargo plane, only one was ever built. The aircraft was destroyed during on 24 February 2022 by invading Russian forces in Ukraine. But watching the giant jet lumber into the air was a goose-bump experience.
The An-225 was the workhorse of the Antonov Airlines fleet in Russia. It was the go-to cargo aircraft when it comes to hauling something that skeptics say, “You can’t put that in an airplane.”
In August of 2009, a generator for a gas power plant in Armenia was delivered by the An-225. The cargo weighed in at 189 tons.
When the An-225 was built, the Cold War was in its final days. When the Soviet Union broke up, its space program languished and there wasn’t much need for the world’s largest aircraft. However, it enjoyed a rebirth as a specialized cargo hauler.
