Was bigger better? In the case of the Antonov 225 heavy cargo jet, I think it was! After all, 6 soul-shaking jet engines screaming at full power is always a rush. The video is the taxi (back-taxi on Rwy 16 at ZRH) and takeoff of a flight from Zurich, Switzerland. The plane is an An-225 Mriya (In Ukrainian, mriya means dream, or inspiration). The An-225 Mriya (Cossack) was the only one of its kind ever built. A second airframe was partially constructed, but production was halted due to lack of funding. An agreement between China and Ukraine was signed at one point to explore China producing additional copies in the future.
About the An-225
The An-225 was a strategic airlift cargo plane, designed in the Soviet Union in the 1980s. It was originally intended for transporting the Buran space shuttle for the Soviet Space Program, which is why the plane loaded cargo through its nose. The pressurized cargo hold was 46,000 cubic feet in volume. After its military missions were completed, the An-225 was put on hold for about eight years, then it was reintroduced as a plane that could carry oversized cargo loads.
The An-225 was the longest and heaviest plane ever built, and powered by six turbofan engines. Its landing gear system had 32 wheels, and the plane was equipped with a twin tail design. It also had the largest wing span of any plane in operational service. The An-225 was destroyed on 24 February 2022 by invading Russian forces at Hostomel airport in Ukraine.
Cover photo by: Alex Beltyukov