The massive aircraft had a wingspan longer than eight double decker buses and was heavier than three London Underground train carriages....For More CONTINUE THE FULL READING▶▶
A monster plane so big it seemed like it was a miracle it could take off once dominated the skies as the largest aircraft in the world.
The Antonov An-225 “Mriya”, meaning “dream” in Ukrainian, was the only aircraft of its kind ever built and was so large it carried Soviet space shuttles to launch sites.
The astonishing feat of engineering weighed more than 640 tonnes and had a wingspan of more than 290 feet supporting six jet engines which could take the plane up to speeds of nearly 530mph.
It had a range fully fuelled that could take it almost 10,000 miles, or just under the distace from London to Sydney, and in 2011 it successfully transported four battle tanks weighing a record 253.8 tonnes, the heaviest ever cargo carried by an aircraft.
Sadly in 2022 when the Russian army invaded Ukraine the Mriya was attacked in a hangar in an airport near Kyiv and destroyed wiping out an incredible piece of Ukrainian engineering and aviation history..…CONTINUE.FULL.READING>>>
