World's largest & heaviest gaint aircraft ever

Antonov An-225

The Antonov An-225 has a nickname which is ‘Mirya’. The literal translation of the word is ‘Dream’.

The Antonov An-225 Mriya is a strategic airlift cargo aircraft that was designed by the Antonov Design Bureau in the Ukrainian SSR within the Soviet Union during the 1980s. It is powered by six turbofan engines and is the heaviest aircraft ever built, with a maximum takeoff weight of 640 tonnes. It also has the largest wingspan of any aircraft in operational service. The single example built has the Ukrainian civil registration UR-82060.

First flight: 21 December 1988

Number built: 1

Produced: 1985

# General characteristic

Crew: 6
Length: 84 m (275 ft 7 in)
Wingspan: 88.4 m (290 ft 0 in)
Height: 18.1 m (59 ft 5 in)
Wing area: 905 m2 (9,740 sq ft)
Aspect ratio: 8.6
Empty weight: 285,000 kg (628,317 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 640,000 kg (1,410,958 lb)
Fuel capacity: more than 300,000 kg (661,000) lb)

# Performance

Maximum speed: 850 km/h (530 mph, 460 kn)
Cruise speed: 800 km/h (500 mph, 430 kn)
Range: 15,400 km (9,600 mi, 8,300 nmi) with maximum fuel;
range with 200 tonnes
payload: 4,000 km (2,500 mi)
Service ceiling: 11,000 m (36,000 ft)
Wing loading: 662.9 kg/m2 (135.8 lb/sq ft)
Thrust/weight: 0.234

The An-225 has a 32-wheel landing gear system comprised of two nose bogies and fourteen main wheel bogies (seven per side). Each bogie has two wheels.The Antonov An-225 was designed to power by six turbofan engines. The aircraft is regarded as the world heaviest aircraft ever built with a maximum takeoff flight reaching up to 640 tones. This is not all, the Antonov An-225 also happens to be the only operational aircraft in the world with the largest wingspan.

The Antonov An-225 was actually a better version of its predecessor Antonov An-124 and was initially designed to transport the Buran Spaceplane. The aircraft is only one of a kind and is currently serving under the Antonov Airlines as an aircraft for transporting large sized payloads.

The AN-225 was also expected to be used as a flying space launching site in the reusable aerospace transport system (MAKS) with the airplane making its first stage and a small-size space shuttle with a fuel tank – the second stage.