dterrick 0 #1 November 6, 2003 MY HOUSE !! At about 500 ft.!! I haven't seen that many wheels on landing gear since the C-5 flew over this spring (That was noisy, the AN was so quiet and slow I didn't hear it until it was directly overhead) This is just fully weird. A few evenings ago I ws trolling through my magazine shelf and found an old flying mag I bought (circa 90) with a full flight review on the Antonov AN-124. I had a very strange dream that night involving it configured for about 1,000 (skydiver)passengers - and us bouncing on and off the runway trying to lift off. And now the damn plane gives me a fly - by? Tell me I'm not losing it, please... please? Dave PS: I live about 5 minutes from Winipeg International. time to grab the long lenses and pay a visit I think! Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kingbunky 3 #2 November 6, 2003 hmmmm, nice big tailgate on it. wonder if it's for rent? it'd make for a hell of a dropship! "Hang on a sec, the young'uns are throwin' beer cans at a golf cart." MB4252 TDS699 killing threads since 2001 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pilotdave 0 #3 November 6, 2003 If you can afford it, I can assure you it's for rent! Dave Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BBKid 0 #4 November 6, 2003 Go to Espace Boogie next year - I think they'll probably have the Antonov 72 back. Everyone I've spoken to agrees it's pretty much the perfect jumpship, and I'm desperate to go out of it! Nick --------------------------- "I've pierced my foot on a spike!!!" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Remster 30 #5 November 6, 2003 Quoteperfect jumpship naaaaaa... It sucks really.... Its too big, too fast, you can fit too many people on the ramp, and it needs piston engines.....Remster Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airtwardo 7 #6 November 6, 2003 They're a common sight for me here in the Houston area. I live 10 miles north of Bush Intercontinental, and several An124's are staged here. They are part of a joint US-Russian "Heavy Lift" cargo operation. It started a few years ago with mostly overseas destinations, but now do deliver cargo to many US destinations. There have even been a couple of times the An225's have been staged here as well. There are only 2 left flying if memory serves me...and to have them BOTH here was interesting conversation fodder for a while..."What's going where?" My better 1/2 who is an airline pilot as well as fluent in Russian, got to fly right seat on one of the 225's from here to New York... You think the 124 is big...the 225 is the largest flying machine ever! ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dterrick 0 #7 November 6, 2003 The 225 was here in the early 90's to airlift Combine Harvesters to someplace else. Those damn wings nearly touched the ground when parked, IIRC! I watched an A&E special and I thought they said there was only 1 of them and it had just been re-comissioned - must have been an old show. I actually went to the airport to take some shots of the 124 - maybe good enough for www.airliners.net - It was frickin -15 celcius (give or take 5f on the ground) with a wind and I nearly froze getting the shots. Truthfully, the 124-100 really isn't as big as all that as far as big goes... pretty much a 747 or a C-5 with really, REALLY big and droopy wings. Still, those wings and that landing gear ... ... ... wow! It surprised me how quiet it was on final (I'm under the flight path into our central airport) and how slow it was on takeoff. The only plane I've seen flying that slowly without falling out of the sky is the C-46 Commando that 's based out of Gimli - our DZ! I wish I'd gotten some shots of the C-17 Globemaster that flew in once this summer - now THAT was big! Dave PS: your wife has a very cool job! Think she could get us a 300 way out of one bird? Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airtwardo 7 #8 November 6, 2003 I saw the A&E special saying there was only one too... I think actually there were / is at least 2, one was used to haul their Space Shuttle and the other(s) for military applications. There was a problem with the 225's flying in the US for a while do to the inability to pass some kind of safety inspections or something...that all seemed to go away about the time the birds were staged here...flying 'something black ops' to who knows where...shrouded in mystery, requiring loading in a 'specialized' area. Anyway, back in the 90's the Russian contingent did numerous airshows in the US. There were Su25's, 27's, 29's...the dual counter rotating rotor helicopters, and of course the 225. I first met my wife at the Oklahoma City Air Show where she was acting as an interrupter for the Russians...they indeed put on an impressive performance. Later in the summer we were performing at Oshkosh and the Russians were there too, the thing I remember most about that show was the day the C5 and the 225 were to fly in formation together...they had been staged side by side for most of the week and on this day they would fly a performance then depart to other destinations. Well, it got to be a bit embarrassing for the ole US as problems with the C5 just continued to build one after another. They couldn't get it started...no one thought to bring a tow-bar for it to the show so they couldn't move it out of the way for the 225 to launch...on and on... Finally there came word that a tow-bar was being dispatched via C130 form somewhere and would be there in 4-5 hours, which would break up the Airshow... The 225 boys said we should just hold down all the aircraft parked across the tarmac in a grass field, and they would do their part of the show on schedule... Sure enough...two Ruskies hop up the ladder...fire up all the engines at once... slam her into reverse thrust...AND BACKED THAT BITCH UP 150 YARDS! Dropped some flaps and got those engines blowin' front to back like their supposed to...and off they went...flying the show solo. Much to the TOTAL disgrace of the C5a crew chief. Later in the local bar that all the Airshow performers frequent...the Russian crew chief tells me a cute joke...which by the way, had to be translated by this pretty redhead Id met at the OK City show... "Say you land some night at an airport... you have no idea where you are.... on the ramp are parked five military C5a aircraft..... three of those five are up on jacks... WHAT, do you automatically know about this airport???" I shrugged my lack of an answer to him... He says, "They only HAVE three sets of JACKS!" ... I still don't know which was funnier, the joke or the fact I had to explain it to 'my interrupter' three times!!! (Ran into her at the Chicago Airshow weeks later... we've been together ever since!) ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ypelchat 0 #9 November 7, 2003 QuoteIIRC! I watched an A&E special and I thought they said there was only 1 of them and it had just been re-comissioned Yup! IIRC, only two AN-225 were made, and at some point, they had to remove parts from one to keep the other flying. Then the remaining one was grounded too, with an uncertain fate. Then Antonov decided they had to make the grounded AN-225 airworthy again, and are also planning to re-start AN-225 production, as the demand for super heavy airlift capacity has increased tremendously in recent years. The AN-225 is HUGE. The AN-124 is routinely used to carry Airbus A-320 fuselage sections, and other Airbus parts. The AN-124 is actually a bigger aircraft than the C-5 Galaxy I have reallly cool pictures of the AN-225 that came to Quebec city some time ago. I'll scan some of the pictures, and post them here. Yves. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kai2k1 0 #10 November 7, 2003 cool plane, could you even launch out of that one?? There's no truer sense of flying than sky diving," Scott Cowan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dterrick 0 #11 November 7, 2003 Dunno if it has the certification for open DOOR! flight but I'll quote from the 22-28 august 1990 flight international issue: Quote I flew clean at 300 kph and then down to 180 kph in take off and 170 kph in landing configurations. Only with landing flap did any real buffet precede the stick shaker operation Sure sounds like it would be stable at jumprun speeds Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ypelchat 0 #12 November 7, 2003 Here's the Antonov AN-225. Enjoy! Yves. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kingbunky 3 #13 November 7, 2003 QuoteDunno if it has the certification for open DOOR! flight but I'll quote from the 22-28 august 1990 flight international issue: <--snip--> Dave the site i got the picture from says this: "The An-124 is equipped with large loading doors at the rear end of the cargo compartment. They can be opened in flight to deploy oversize cargo by parachute." sounds like a good jump plane to me!"Hang on a sec, the young'uns are throwin' beer cans at a golf cart." MB4252 TDS699 killing threads since 2001 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vonSanta 0 #14 November 7, 2003 F@rk, that is one big mofo. Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TribalTalon 0 #15 November 7, 2003 i saw that!! i've seen both the AN-124 and 224 at Bush continental. that 224 is one HUGE bish. lol... we could do like a 1,000-way dive out of one of those mothers. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
