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Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba confirmed on February 27 the world’s largest cargo aircraft, the AN-225 Mriya, was destroyed during a Russian attack on Gostomel / Antonov Airport in northern Ukraine on February 24, 2022. There was an earlier report that the plane was safe on the ground in Georgia but Kuleba’s statement appears to refute that. Also, the last flight of the aircraft, according to FlightAware, was on February 5, 2022 when it flew to Gostomel from Denmark. Source: AVweb.com February 27, 2022 The AN-225 made its first flight on December 21, 1988 taking off from the factory aerodrome in Svyatoshyn. The airplane was flown by a crew headed by Oleksandr Galunenko. Mriya was developed for transportation of the Buran shuttle orbiter and components of the Energiya carrier rocket. The AN-225 was also expected to be used as a flying space launching site in the reusable aerospace transport system (MAKS) with the airplane making its first stage and a small-size space shuttle with a fuel tank – the second stage. Mriya can deliver extra-heavy oversize cargo to any point on the globe carrying it either inside the fuselage or on external stores. Two AN-225 airplanes were built. Construction of one of the aircraft was completed. Fuselage and tail unit were assembled at Antonov Kyiv Mechanical Works facility in Kyiv, while the wing center section and outer wing panels were assembled at Valerii Chkalov Tashkent Production Association in Tashkent. The wings and wing center sections were transported from Tashkent to Kyiv on the An-22 Antaeus (Antei). |
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LHR Heathrow. The Queen to get no-fly zone imposed over Windsor Castle in new proposals - but it could mean more disruption for other Londoners. The redirected planes would inevitably have to fly a different route, possibly affecting more people. However, the proposal would mean that Heathrow flight paths would have to be re-routed, as the area within the proposed no-fly zone currently sees planes heading to land flying at around 1,250 feet over Windsor Castle. Departing aircraft fly around 2,000 – 2,500 feet at this location. If plans to expand Heathrow were to go ahead, the need for a third runway flight path would further add to these complications. An expanded Heathrow would mean 260,000 additional flights per year using the airport, in addition to the current limit of 480,000. Source: mylondon.news/lifestyle |
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Canada Jetlines’ first aircraft, an A320-200, has arrived in Canada, as the company’s timeline to launch revenue flights slips to mid-2022. Source: FlightGlobal.com (registration required). |
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