The Antonov An225 "Мрия (Mriya)" is the largest aircraft in the world. It was originally designed to transport the Soviet/Russian version of their Space Shuttle. It is now used as a commercial transport to ferry large items around the world by Antonov Airlines. It is also the only model ever built, and is based at Gostemel Airport, Kiev, Ukraine.
Last Monday (the 12th) ,the Mriya was transitting through HNL on its was to Pago Pago, American Sāmoa to bring ten electrical generators to the earthquake and tsunami ravaged US Territory. Sāmoa and the Republic of Tonga were also affected by the earthquake.
I had the opportunity to see the An225 up close and personal, thanks to friends at HNL. The big bird was in the process of being re-fueled when we got there, and the flight manager allowed us into the Mriya and check out the interior. I posted more photos of the An225 on my HNL RareBirds blog. We were certainly blessed to have a rainbow grace the background, as we took our last photos of the Ukranian big bird.
1 comment:
What a monstrously big plane! You were lucky to get an up close look at it and a private tour. How cool!
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