The Antonov An-225 is the longest and heaviest aircraft ever built with a maximum takeoff weight of 710 tons. It was first built to carry Soviet space shuttles and 27 years after it entered into service it’s still operational.
The Antonov An-225 is 84 m long and weighs 285 tonnes when empty making it the world’s heaviest cargo plane. It also has a wingspan of 290 feet making it have the longest wingspan of any plane. Its cargo compartment is so huge that it can hold upto 50 cars. The plane is also capable of carrying oversized objects on top of its roof.
This giant plane is powered by six turbofan engines each capable of pumping out over 23 tonnes of thrust on takeoff. These engines were selected for their high takeoff thrust and low specific fuel consumption. They are also easy to maintain and have low noise and contaminant emissions. The Antonov An-225 can fly at a maximum speed of 850km/h.
The plane is also fitted with a bucket-shape thrust reverser, a jetpipe, a drive box, an exhaust nozzle, a fan turbine, a combustion chamber,an intermediate drive, a fan stator blade and fan wheel. The aircraft’s landing gear consists of 32 wheels that enable the plane to turn within a 61 metre runway.
Unfortunately there is only one operational Antonov An-225 in the world since only one airframe was ever completed. A second airframe was also commissioned but was never completed. Thus the chances of ever spotting this plane are quite low.
This huge plane requires a crew of six to operate and so far only 10 pilots are actually certified to fly it.
