Aviation History: Time when Antonov An-225 Mriya touched the Indian ground for first time

Reminiscing about the world's largest Antonov An-225 got us thinking about the time when it touched the Indian ground. The Ukrainian made; world's largest aircraft Mriya once landed in India back in 2016 at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad.

The aircraft came to Hyderabad in India from Turkmenistan. The world's largest aircraft AN-225 Mriya landed for a technical halt. It was carrying a generator that weighed 116 tonnes. Which is almost half the max total carrying capacity of the aircraft.

At its first landing, the aircraft managed to keep everyone wondering about its size with its wingspan of 88.4 metres carrying six turbofan engines. Its long length of 84 meters from nose to tail was a part of everyone's thought process.

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It made headlines not just because of its massive size but also because of its weight carrying capacity of 250 tonnes and maximum take-off weight of 650 tonnes. Though built in the Soviet Era even in modern times it managed to be a mega marvel.

It was a flying behemoth with a height of 18 meters, you can imagine this height as it is comparable to the height of a six-storey tall building. Even, the story of the creation of this giant aircraft is as incredible as its size.

It was created to transport the Soviet Buran space shuttle from its landing site to Kazakhstan as well as other super-heavy jumbo payloads. As mentioned earlier, the AN-225 can carry up to 250 tonnes of cargo, compared to 157 tonnes for the Airbus A–380, the world's largest passenger aircraft. 

Mriya's huge landing gear has 32 wheels spaced across it. According to aircraft manufacturers, the cargo compartment is pressurised, which increases the aircraft's transport capability.

The Antonov An-225 also had many records under its name, for instance in June 2010, it delivered two wind turbine blades for China to Denmark, making it the world's longest individual item of air freight (42.1 metres). The An-225 also set records for the biggest single piece of air cargo (a 189-ton generator) and the highest total payload (a 189-ton generator) (four tanks totalling 253.82 tons).

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