#Antonov 225 flight radar 24 generator#

So itвЂ™s a rare bird, and worth seeing because of its history and raw capability - an appeal that dates back years. On March 25, the AN-225 Mriya returned to the air after 18 months of maintenance and upgrades - just in time to assist with pandemic-related shipments.

#Antonov 225 flight radar 24 generator#

It once carried a generator weighing 417,000 pounds, a world record for a single item, and its total payloads can reach 550,000 pounds. But its remarkable lift capabilities came in handy, and eventually Antonov built traction offering its services - along with those of its other cargo aircraft, including the smaller AN-124 upon which the AN-225 is based - to customers around the world. As the Soviet Union fell apart and Buran was cancelled, Mriya, too, seemed doomed to the scrapyard. Overwhelmingly, itвЂ™s the aircraft itself, a singular piece of late-Soviet history that was originally intended to transport the countryвЂ™s own version of a space shuttle, called Buran. So what gives? Why has the Antonov AN-225 become such a sensation at a time when everyone around the world is supposed to be sitting at home taking Zoom calls? Lots of reasons. During its recent layover in Athens, someone trained a camera on the aircraft and live-streamed every minute of its visit, with the feed drawing dozens of viewers at any given time - even when itвЂ™s just sitting there in the middle of the night. In addition, FlightRadar24 has blogged about the aircraft, and a 12,000-member Facebook group that tracks the AN-225вЂ™s whereabouts and which has existed for several years now, dubbed simply вЂњAntonov An-225 Mriya,вЂќ has seen a surge in members and posts since the return-to-flight in March, including tons of photos and videos of its comings and goings. (The massive aircraft hadnвЂ™t landed at Mirabel since 2012.) The visit to Montreal, in particular, turned into something of a frenzy, with news outlets and hundreds of enthusiasts вЂ“ at this point, itвЂ™s safe to call them fans вЂ“ turning out. Each stop has drawn significant crowds for its arrival and departure. WhatвЂ™s more, the hulking blue and white high-wing airplane has become something of a rock star in its current life, much more than it ever was previously. Hundreds of aviation enthusiasts and media members flocked to Mirabel airport on May 1 to get a good look at the massive AN-225, which hadnвЂ™t been to Montreal since 2012. Registered UR-82060, itвЂ™s due to make more trips to North America in the coming weeks. Including fuelling stops, Mriya - which means вЂњdreamвЂќ or вЂњinspirationвЂќ in Ukrainian - has made over 30 flights so far, visiting Paris, Anchorage, Leipzig, Warsaw, Montreal, and Athens, along with Tianjin, China, where it collects supplies, and Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, its frequent stopovers between Europe and Asia. Indeed, MriyaвЂ™s movements have been one of the few bright spots in aviation over the last several months, as the AN-225 has been in virtually continuous service flying personal protective equipment from China to different locations around the world. Its return to flight allowed plane spotters and general aviation enthusiasts to resume their tracking of the aircraft, potentially even seeing it pass through their local airports, just as the rest of the worldвЂ™s airplanes were being grounded due to the shocking impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on commercial aviation. These included new engine control systems, LCD instrumentation, LED lighting, and a host of other improvements that will help the aircraft - only one of which was ever built, in 1985 - stay in service for another decade or more. The distinctive twin-tail, 600,000-pound cargo aircraft, with its six turbofan engines, 290-foot wingspan, and cavernous interior, had been grounded for about 18 months for maintenance and upgrades. When the Antonov AN-225 touched down in Mirabel, Que., it took the Nolinor Aviation ground crew seven hours to unload the gigantic aircraft. The app FlightRadar24 had buzzed to life to inform those whoвЂ™d programmed in this alert that the Antonov AN-225 Mriya, the largest airplane in the world, had taken to the skies seconds before from its home airport in Kiev, Ukraine. Actually, it was more like a little vibration. eastern time, a subset of aviation enthusiasts around the world felt a tremor in the global airspace. Estimated reading time 8 minutes, 2 seconds.