#aircraft Aircraft facts.
The Antonov A-n-124 Ruslan is a large, strategic airlift, four-engined aircraft that was designed in the 1980s by the Antonov design bureau in the Ukrainian SSR, then part of the Soviet Union. Until the Boeing 747-8F, the A-N-124 was, for thirty years, the world's heaviest gross weight production cargo airplane and second heaviest operating cargo aircraft, behind the one-off Antonov A-N-225 Mriya. The A-n-124 remains the largest military transport aircraft in service. The lead designer of the A-N-124 was Viktor Tolmachev.
The sole remaining production facility is Russia's Aviastar-SP in Ulyanovsk. In 2019, there were 26 A-n-124s in commercial service.
Externally, the A-N-124 is similar to the American Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, having a double fuselage to allow for a rear cargo door that can open in flight without affecting structural integrity. It is slightly shorter, with a slightly greater wingspan, and a 17% larger payload. Instead of the Galaxy's T-tail, the A-N-124 uses a conventional empennage, similar in design to that of the Boeing 747.
The aircraft uses oleo strut suspension for its 24 wheels. The suspension has been calibrated to allow landing on rough terrain and is able to kneel to allow easier front loading. The plane has an onboard overhead crane capable of lifting up to 30 tonnes of cargo, and items up to 120 tonnes can be winched on board.
Up to 150 tonnes of cargo can be carried in a military A-N-124; it can also carry 88 passengers in an upper deck behind the wing centre section. The cargo compartment is than the main cargo compartment of the C-5 Galaxy. Due to limited pressurisation in the main cargo compartment, it seldom carries paratroopers.
Pilots have stated that the A-N-124 is light on the controls and easy to handle for an aircraft of its size.
Some airports require pavement protection from the heat and blast effects of the A-N-124's 2 TA18-200-124 auxiliary power units.
In May 1987, an A-N-124 set a world record, covering the distance of 20,151 kilometers without refuelling. The flight took 25 hours and 30 minutes.
An A-N-124 was used to transport the Obelisk of Axum back to its native homeland of Ethiopia from Rome in April 2005.
An A-N-124 was used to transport an EP-3E Aries 2 electronic intelligence aircraft from Hainan Island, China on 4 July 2001 following the Hainan Island incident.
In July 2010, an A-N-124 was used to transport four 35-foot and three 21-foot skimmer boats from France to the US to assist with the clean-up of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
An A-N-124 was used in April 2011 to airlift a large Putzmeister concrete pump from Germany to Japan to help cool reactors damaged in the Fukushima nuclear accident. The A-N-225 was used to transport an even larger Putzmeister concrete pump to Japan from the United States.
credits
[ Ссылка ]
[ Ссылка ]
[ Ссылка ]
[ Ссылка ]
[ Ссылка ]

свернуть