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NOTE: RADIO CONTROL AIRPLANES ARE ON THE BOTTOM HALF OF THE PAGE.
The Antonov An-225 holds records for the world's heaviest aircraft, and the heaviest payload .
One is currently in service with a second under construction with completion anticipated some time in 2010.
The aircraft is available for the transportation of heavy freight both on its back and internally.
The An-225 is an adaptation of earlier Antonov aircraft, with a longer fuselage, two more engines and a 32 wheel heavy duty landing gear.
The huge cargo carrier was shown to the international public for the first time at the 1989 Paris Air Show.
It is anticipated that the aircraft will be used for space projects by transporting rockets and their parts. The cargo bay is large enough to hold a fully assembled aircraft fuselage.
The first commercial flight of the Antonov An-225 was for the delivery of over 215,000 meals to U.S. military personnel in Oman.
Production of additional aircraft depends upon future demand for huge heavy cargo lifters.
Flying the An-225 for the first time is a thrill. You line the aircraft up with the runway center line and hold the brakes while pushing the throttles fully forward.
With brake release the aircraft slowly rolls forward. Acceleration is a gentle push back in your seat, rather than a shove.
At maximum take off weight the huge aircraft uses a lot of runway before reaching rotation speed. Once off the ground the first business is to retract the massive under carriage.
Next the flap setting is decreased gradually until 287 mph is reached, at which time they are fully retracted. The controls are surprisingly light and the aircraft responsive to minor inputs.
Angle of attack is very important in an aircraft as heavy and large as the An-225. It must be climbed gently so as to gain sufficient airspeed for gear and flap retraction.
At cruising altitude the autopilots are engaged and you can take a deep breath.
However, it is always important to stay ahead of the aircraft. Once it gathers speed, the An-225 is capable of flying at close to 500 mph. Not only do things happen fast at those speeds, but the mass of the aircraft must be taken into account when performing any maneuvers. Following the flight manual is a must or you can easily get into trouble.
Landings are best made with a long, straight in approach. The mass of the An-225 carries its speed during landings. This is not the sort of an aircraft you want to side slip on final.
Flaps are dropped when speed is sufficiently reduced, then the gear comes down. Speed brakes are set to activate once the aircraft is on the runway.
A slightly nose high attitude is held while throttling back to a comfortable 500 foot per minute loss of altitude. Only when the aircraft is in ground effect over the runway should power be fully reduced.
If a go around becomes necessary, the six engines need some time to spool up.
Thrust reversing is engaged once the An-225 slows sufficiently that the engines will not stall. The aircraft brakes do a remarkable job of slowing it smoothly and in a straight line, even though most of the runway is behind you before it slows enough to turn off.
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Specifications
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Primary Function:
Crew:
Engines
Thrust:
Weight Empty:
Max. Weight:
Payload:
Length:
Wingspan:
Cruise Speed:
Max. Speed:
Climb Rate:
Ceiling:
Range:
Year Deployed: |
global transport
seven
Progress D18T
6 x 51,600 lbs ea.
1,179,450 lbs.
1,322,750 lbs.
551,150 lbs.
275' 7"
291' 2"
422 mph
528 mph
2,500 fpm
33,000 feet
9,500 miles
1989 |
 An-225 engines dwarf the people below them.
Radio Control Airplane
 A rc Antonov An-225 built by Hans Buhr.
Radio Control Airplanes:
Pictured above and in the two pictures below is the magnificent scratch built rc Antonov An-225 by Hans Buhr. The wingspan is 11' 5". Burh powers his it with six Lehmer 2718/20 NL motors.
Sam Cocker scratch built a 20 foot wing span rc Antonov An-225 radio control airplane. In 1997 it was in the Guinness book of world records as the world's largest RC Airplane.
Jim Markham scratch built another Antonov An-225 rc airplane. This had a 10 foot wing span and was powered by six Wemotec mini fans.
There were some postings in RC Groups from Hawker about a rc Antonov An-225 radio control airplane that was scratch built. The foam model was powered by six EDF-50 fans, and weighed about 48 oz. However, even at that weight it seems the fans didn't have enough power to get it off of the ground. Hawker's model is in the third picture down.
The last picture is of a rc Antonov An-225 EDF built by Chih Min. We don't know the dimensions, except that it weighs about 55 lbs.
We don't know of any other rc Antonov An-225 rc airplanes. If you have a favorite, please email us.
Radio Control Airplane
1/25 scale rc Antonov An-225 by Hans Buhr.
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Radio Control Airplane |
The rc Antonov An-225 with Buran.
Radio Control Airplane
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A rc Antonov An-225 by Hawker.
Radio Control Airplane<
Chih Min's rc Antonov An-225 EDF.
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Antonov An-225
