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The Antonov An-124 Ruslan is the largest production freighter in the world. It was introduced to the west at the Paris Airshow of 1985. It succeeded the C-5A Galaxy in the role of world's biggest airplane. Construction continues in Kiev, Ukraine and Ulyanovsk, Russia.

Ruslan was a hero in Russian folklore and the subject of a play by Pushkin.

Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, Arizona, Friday January 15, 2011

On Saturday, January 15, 2011, Polet Flight 4712 departed from Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport at 5:11 PM with a load of Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopters for the Royal Saudi Land Forces.

Polet An-124-100 RA-82080 prepares to depart from Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport in the late afternoon.

Polet An-124-100 RA-82080 bagins its take-off roll on Runway 30 Left.

Polet An-124-100 RA-82080 rotates after roling 6,000 feet down the runway.

A group of Marine Corp McDonnell-Douglas AV-8B Hariers were parked on the flightline as Polet An-124-100 RA-82080 lifted off.

Polet An-124-100 RA-82080 retracts its landing gear as it climbs away from the airport.

Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, Arizona, Friday January 14, 2011

On Friday, January 14, 2011, Polet Flight 4711 arrived at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport at 11:38 AM to pick up a load of Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopters for the Royal Saudi Land Forces.

Polet An-124-100 RA-82080 on approach to land on Runway 30 Left. It was manufactured at Ulyanovsk, Russia and was delivered to Polet on June 18, 2004. Its construction number is 9773051462161.

Shortly after its arrival, its nose was raised to load the helicopters.

Its nose landing gear was retracted to the kneeling position.

Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, Wednesday April 25, 2007

This Antonov Design Bureau An-124 UR-82027 showed up at Vandenberg Air Force Base from Rome Leonardo da Vinci Fiumicino Airport by way of Bangor, Maine at 10:50 AM on Wednesday, April 25, 2007. Low lying clouds partially obscured the view of its approach.

Antonov Design Bureau An-124 UR-82027. Its construction number is 19530502288.

NAS Pt. Mugu, California, Friday March 24, 2006

On Friday, March 24, 2006 an Antonov Design Bureau An-124 Ruslan flew from Keflavik, Iceland to NAS Pt. Mugu, California. Flight ADB7836 arrived at 12:51 PM PST.

Antonov Design Bureau An-124 Ruslan, UR-82007 flight ADB7836 on approach to Runway 21 at NAS Pt. Mugu, California, Friday March 24, 2006. UR-82007 is registered in Ukraine, not Russia.

Antonov Design Bureau An-124 Ruslan, UR-82007 at NAS Pt. Mugu, California, Friday March 24, 2006. Its construction number is 19530501005. This An-124 was displayed at the Aerospace America Airshow at Brown Field (see below), near San Diego, California on May 22, 1988. At the time it was registered CCCP-82007 and wore a Soviet flag on its tail. It was later leased to AAR Airlines by the Antonov Design Bureau. It was impounded on June 30, 2003 and assigned to Antonov Airlines on July 9, 2005.

Antonov Design Bureau An-124 Ruslan, UR-82007 at NAS Pt. Mugu, California, Friday March 24, 2006.

Antonov Design Bureau An-124 Ruslan, UR-82007 at NAS Pt. Mugu, California, Friday March 24, 2006.

Southern California Air Logistics Center, Victorville, California, Tuesday, March 14, 2006

On Tuesday, March 14, 2006 a pair of Volga-Dnepr An-124 Ruslans flew from Wheeler Sack AAF, New York to the Southern California Air Logistics Center at Victorville, California. Flight VDA3424 arrived at 12:35 PM PST and flight VDA3400 arrived at 2:20 PM.

Volga-Dnepr An-124 Ruslan, RA82045 Flight VDA3424 on approach to Runway 17 at Victorville on March 14, 2006. Its construction number is 9773052255113.

Volga-Dnepr An-124 Ruslan, RA82045 Flight VDA3424 at Victorville on March 14, 2006.

Volga-Dnepr An-124 Ruslan, RA82045 Flight VDA3424 at Victorville on March 14, 2006.

Volga-Dnepr An-124 Ruslan, RA82045 prepares to unload its payload at Victorville on March 14, 2006.

Volga-Dnepr An-124 Ruslan, RA82045 Flight VDA3424 at Victorville on March 14, 2006.

Volga-Dnepr An-124 Ruslan, RA82042 Flight VDA3400 on approach to Runway 17 at Victorville on March 14, 2006. Its construction number is 9773050455093.

Volga-Dnepr An-124 Ruslan, RA82042 Flight VDA3400 at Victorville on March 14, 2006.

Volga-Dnepr An-124 Ruslan, RA82042 Flight VDA3400 at Victorville on March 14, 2006. Volga-Dnepr An-124 Ruslan, RA82045 can be seen with its visor raised on the far side of the airport.

Volga-Dnepr An-124 Ruslan, RA82042 pulls into postion near RA82045 at Victorville on March 14, 2006.

On Wednesday, March 15 Volga-Dnepr An-124 flight VDA4301 flew from Victorville to Wheeler Sack. Volga-Dnepr An-124 flight VDA4303 flew from Victorville to Gander. Volga-Dnepr An-124 flight VDA4302 flew from Wheeler Sack to Victorville. AMT 757-300 Flight AMT5261 also flew from Wheeler Sack to Victorville.

On Thursday, March 16, Volga-Dnepr An-124 flight VDA4304 flew from Wheeler Sack to Victorville. Volga-Dnepr An-124 flight VDA4303 flew from Gander to Diori Hamani, Africa.

Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, Friday May 20

A Volga-Dnepr Antonov An-124 Ruslan RA-82074 delivered a large payload to Vandenberg Air Force Base on Friday May 20, 2005. Its construction number is 9773051459142. It was previously operated by Trans Charter Airlines. It was delivered to Volga-Dnepr on September 9, 1999.

Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, February 8 - 10, 2005

Volga-Dnepr An-124, RA-82045 flew from Denver to Vandenberg AFB, California on Tuesday, February 8, 2005. Its construction number is 9773052255113.

Volga-Dnepr An-124, RA-82045 at Vandenberg AFB, California, February 8, 2005.

Volga-Dnepr An-124, RA-82045 at Vandenberg AFB, California, February 8, 2005.

Volga-Dnepr An-124, RA-82045 at Vandenberg AFB, California, February 8, 2005.

An-124, RA-82045 flew back to Denver on Wednesday, February 9.

Volga-Dnepr An-124, RA-82045 returned from Denver to Vandenberg AFB, California on Thursday, February 10, 2005.

An-124, RA-82045 delivered the first Lockheed-Martin Atlas V booster and its Centaur upper stage to the west coast launch complex. In March, the Atlas team will transport the rocket segments to the newly refurbished Space Launch Complex 3 East for vertical stacking.

The Atlas V vehicle stands over 200 feet tall, an increase of about 50 feet over the Atlas IIAS vehicle that launched successfully three times from SLC-3E. The vehicle also incorporates a stretched Centaur upper stage. In performance, The Atlas V 400 and 500 series of launch vehicles will provide over two times the lift capability of the 100 percent successful Atlas IIAS vehicle.

An-124, RA-82045 flew to Huntsville, Alabama on Friday, Febuary 11 and on to Shannon, Ireland on Saturday, February 12.

Mojave, California, September 2002

Antonov Design Bureau An-124, UR-82072 looms over the buildings at the Mojave Airport on September 5, 2002. Its construction number is 9773053359136. It had delivered the GE-90-115B engine for installation on the GE 747 engine testbed It was previously operated by Rossia Airlines as RA-82072. It was assigned to Antonov Airlines in September 1999.

Antonov Design Bureau An-124, UR-82072 at Mojave, September 5, 2002. The Antonov Airlines livery has been revised. The lower surfaces are now white and the blue cheat line is a lighter shade and narrower, without the thin accent line.

Antonov Design Bureau An-124, UR-82072 at Mojave, September 5, 2002

Antonov Design Bureau An-124, UR-82072 at Mojave, September 5, 2002

Antonov Design Bureau An-124, UR-82072 at Mojave, September 5, 2002

Alexandria International Airport, Louisiana, April 1999

An-124 Ruslan, UR-82066, was photographed April 19, 1999 at Alexandria International Airport in Louisiana. Alexandria International Airport was formerly known as England AFB. This Ruslan belongs to the Antonov Design Bureau which is based in Kiev, Ukraine. Heavylift in England wet leases the aircraft from Antonov, complete with crews. The captain is a Russian. A contingent of Heavylift employees, based at London Stanstead, travel with the aircraft, serving various purposes. It is carrying oversize cargo in support of NATO humanitarian activity in Italy. Photo courtesy Ashley Waters

Tushino Aerodrome, Moscow, Russia, August 1996

An-124, RA-82031 was escorted by a pair of Su-27 Flankers of the Russian Knight Demonstration Team at the Moscow Airshow at Tushino Aerodrome in August 1996. Its construction number is 9773051832049.

Brown Field, San Diego, California, May 1988

The first appearance by an An-124 Ruslan in the United States was CCCP-82007 at the Aerospace America Airshow at Brown Field in San Diego in May 1988. The U.S.A.F. Thunderbirds can be seen in diamond formation in the background of this shot of CCCP-82007. The visor type upward hinged nose of the An-124 contains weather and ground mapping radars.

This An-124, now registered UR82007, was ferried from Ukraine to Manston in England to be used as a prop for the next James Bond film Die Another Day.

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.

The main landing gear of the An-124 Ruslan has five pairs of wheels on each side. The nose gear and rear two pairs of main gear on each side are steerable.

Links:

Find all about the Antonov An-124 Ruslan at Wikiverse.org.

Link to Antonov Airlines web site.

Link to Antonov Airlines An-124 page.

Link to accident reports for An-124 crashes at the Air Safety Network web site.

Air Foyle is a member of the European Heavy-Lift Group.

Volga-Dnepr Airlines operates the An-124.

Giant Jet Airplanes

197ft, 03in

206ft

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2010

224ft,07in

250ft,02in

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261ft,10in

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211ft,05in

231ft,10in

5,650

833,000

1988

290ft,00in

275ft,07in

10,280

1,300,000

1984

240ft,00in

227ft,00in

6,760

890,000

1968

222ft,08in

247ft,10in

6,200

769,000

1968

195ft,08in

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5,500

850,000

1965

211ft,04in

189ft,07in

3,713

550,000

1964

105ft,00in

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6,297

530,000

1952

185ft,00in

157ft,07in

4,000

450,000

1952

206ft,05in

175ft,02in

5,239

410,000

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Giant Airplanes

2011 calendar

You can buy a 2011 calendar featuring my photographs of Giant Airplanes.

Coulson Flying Tankers Martin JRM C-FLYL Hawaii Mars, Lake Elsinore, California, October 27, 2007
Lockheed C-5B Galaxy 87-0039, Travis Air Force Base, August 8, 1998
Boeing 747-123 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft N905NA/Atlantis, Edwards Air Force Base, July 7, 2007
NASA Boeing 747SP-21, N747NA Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), Boron, California, May 31, 2007
Volga-Dnepr Antonov An-124 Ruslan RA82045, Victorville, California, March 14, 2006
China Airlines Boeing 747-409 B-18210 Dreamliner, Los Angeles International Airport, March 2, 2006
Antonov An-225 Mriya UR82060, Zhukovsky, Russia, September 3, 1993
Evergreen International 747-273C Supertanker, N470EV, San Bernardino, California, May 31, 2006
United Boeing 777-222 N222UA, Los Angeles International Airport, November 29, 2007
Air Tahiti Nui Airbus A340-313E F-OLOV, Los Angeles International Airport, March 2, 2006
China Eastern Airlines Airbus A340-642 B-6052, Los Angeles International Airport, February 28, 2006
Airbus A380-841 F-WWJB, Los Angeles International Airport, November 29, 2007

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Jet Freighters

2011 Calendar

You can buy a 2011 calendar featuring my photographs of Jet Freighters.

A dozen photos of Jet Freighters. Aircraft pictured include:

Antonov An-225 RA-82060, Zhukovsky, Russia, September 5, 1993
China Airlines Cargo Boeing 747-409F B-18720, Los Angeles, February 28, 2006
Antonov Design Bureau An-124-100 UR-82007, NAS Pt Mugu, March 24, 2006
Kitty Hawk Cargo Boeing 737-3Y0 N105KH, Phoenix, April 13, 2006
Fedex MD-11F N592FE, Los Angeles, November 29, 2007
Boeing 747-8F N50217, Phoenix-Mesa Gateway, September 2, 2010
Fedex McDonnell-Douglas A300F4-605R N692FE, Phoenix, December, 23, 2010
Southern Air Boeing 747-2L5B N815SA, Phoenix, December, 23, 2010
DHL Boeing 767-281 N769AX, Phoenix, December, 23, 2010
FedEx MD-10-10F McDonnell-Douglas N366FE, Phoenix, December, 23, 2010
Capital Cargo International Boeing 727-225 N755DH, Phoenix, December, 23, 2010
ATI McDonnell-Douglas DC-8-71F N820BX, Phoenix, December, 23, 2010

Put a copy of the Jet Freighters: 2011 Calendar in your Lulu.com shopping cart.

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