AN-124 Ruslan: Ukrainian aircraft and its records
On July 26, 1985, the Ukrainian AN-124 Ruslan aircraft during one flight was able to set 21 world records. He lifted a cargo weighing 171 tons to a height of almost 11 kilometers. Thus, breaking the record set earlier by the American C-5A aircraft - 111 tons at an altitude of 2 kilometers.
The Soviet authorities wanted to have a plane that could surpass Western aircraft. In this race, they wanted to get a confident advantage over the West. The project for the construction of AN-124 was approved by a resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR in 1966. The authorities demanded an increase in the carrying capacity of Soviet military transport aircraft.
In 1972, the government approved the layout of the An-124 with four engines with a secret index “product 200”. After 4 years, Oleg Antonov decided to remake the project, and the new version was assigned an index - “product 400”.
To embody the project was not an easy task. On-board systems were tested on 44 experimental and natural stands. For aerial testing involved 4 flying laboratories.
December 24, 1982 "Ruslan" first took off from the factory airfield in Svyatoshyn, near Kiev. This was followed by 650 test flights and 1595 hours in the air.
In 1987, the AN-124 again set a record. He performed a non-stop flight with a length of 20,000 kilometers along the borders of the USSR in 25 hours and 30 minutes.
The Soviet authorities wanted to have a plane that could surpass Western aircraft. In this race, they wanted to get a confident advantage over the West. The project for the construction of AN-124 was approved by a resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR in 1966. The authorities demanded an increase in the carrying capacity of Soviet military transport aircraft.
In 1972, the government approved the layout of the An-124 with four engines with a secret index “product 200”. After 4 years, Oleg Antonov decided to remake the project, and the new version was assigned an index - “product 400”.
Photo © expres.online
To embody the project was not an easy task. On-board systems were tested on 44 experimental and natural stands. For aerial testing involved 4 flying laboratories.
December 24, 1982 "Ruslan" first took off from the factory airfield in Svyatoshyn, near Kiev. This was followed by 650 test flights and 1595 hours in the air.
In 1987, the AN-124 again set a record. He performed a non-stop flight with a length of 20,000 kilometers along the borders of the USSR in 25 hours and 30 minutes.
