So when is a certain someone at Giz going to put this in their pants. I know that didn't add value, but the other comments had just been so un-funny.

Seriously, I'm not an engineer or anything, but every time I see a plane like this, I can't help but think there must be a better way...a better shape, better power source, or something. Still cool though.

trampas

If we're using "mass produced" as our metric, you can keep counting the A380 out for now - if it ever gets out the door.

ekasbury

I flew a couple of million miles on the AN124 for Antonov Design Bureau. Although it has a payload of 120MT it has in fact carried about 176MT in military service. The Maximum Take Off Weight is just under 400MT. The aircraft has a huge amount of power when empty but in hot climates with a full payload, take off was interesting to say the least. With a full payload, refueling was required about every 5 hours. It has 2 overhead cranes on board (sorry but I cannot remember exactly how much they could lift but I think 30MT) but for the real big loads like trains, a special ramp was needed that would fit to the front of the aircraft. The ramp in itself was heavy and huge and used to take hours to set up. Fuel consumption when heavy and hot about 20MT in the first hour.

It is a very noisy (inside) aircraft but comfortable as I had a bed and a little kitchen. Don't ask about the toilets, less than desirable.

ruslan124

@av8thor: There is no C-5 with a white paint job and a company's LOGO on the side! Scroll to about 42 seconds left in the video and you will see it.

BK88

You sure it's not a C5 Galaxy? (AKA the Aluminum Cloud?) they are both four engine, have a roughly similar profile, and a C5 would be much more likely to be flying to a Marine base...

av8thor

We've had one of these visiting our local Marine base regularly for the last year. Not sure exactly what they've been moving in or out, though. I just want to actually see it take off or land, but I haven't gotten lucky yet.

TVGenius

@thebullfrog:
The AN-225, which was a modified AN-124 to carry the Buran shuttle, is the longest and heaviest. The Hughes Spruce Goose still has the largest wingspan, and is tied with the A380 for height.

SonOfSlam

If you think that's impressive, you should see the Antonov AN-225 Mriya. I know it's not mass-produced, but it is still in service, and it's huge compared to the AN-124. When you watch it, you can't believe this hulk will ever get off the ground. Then it does, and it is a truly amazing spectacle to behold.

Built to carry the Buran (Russian Space Shuttle), the AN-225 utterly dwarfs almost every wing-based craft in the air. It's considerably larger than the A380 in every dimension, with has an unmatched length of 275 feet, beating the 747-8 by a full 25 feet. Its 290-foot wingspan is only bested by one plane: the Hughes H4 Hercules "Spruce Goose" (320 feet!).

macserv

@nycGRAEME: Read the headline: biggest mass-produced cargo aircraft in the world. The AN-225 was not mass-produced.

That said, I wish they had a Myria at the show.

jesusdiaz

soviets know how to build something huge and durable, specially if it can be used in war times.

AndersonBMX

The An-124 is actually NOT the largest cargo aircraft in the world. That title belongs to the An-225 (Myria) built by the same Antonov Design Bureau but only one was ever built (to carry the ill fated soviet space shuttle). The 124 has a max payload (irrespective of range) of about 120 MT while the 225 has a max of an amazing 250 MT!! They both have about the same volume but the 225 only loads from the front. The super cool thing about the 224 is that it "kneels" down at the front to facilitate loading. When one of these babies is on a approach and you watch it come in, its unbelievable how big they really are!

nycGRAEME

My company was the one to transport the Obelix from Italy to Ethiopia. This is an absolutely beautiful plane. Russian cargo a/cs in general are far superior to their western counterparts. They are self reliant, meaning they don't need any forklifts to load/unload the a/cs and can land in much harsher conditions. Its actually quite sad that 30 year old a/cs are better than modern a/cs.

stephena

bbfreak, there are lots of commercial airplanes that are 30 years old, from boeing too. It's nothing bad about it. The only bad thing is that they make more noise and consume more fuel, but planes are designed to last decades. They are no like cars.

manduvi

@thebullfrog: i think that would be the new Airbus A380. just a guess tho, heh.

josh.hofer

If this is the largest cargo plane, I'd like to see the largest OVERALL plane in the world. Anybody got a clue on what that is?

thebullfrog

Ok, I'm right here now.... who said porno???

valis

I've been at the end of the runway when one of these took off. You can't really grasp how big this thing is until it gets up close.

radio

@PCLoadLetter:

60's, 70's, and 80's

90's is available as an optional download.

MacBandit

I didn't know iMovie had a option for 70's porno music...

PCLoadLetter

Oh yeah, trippy choice of music, too!

FreeMan

Still, that doesn't really count for the AN-124, which is owned by a company rather than the Russian state.

bbfreak

I've been inside a C-5A Galaxie. It's hard to fathom something that freaking HUGE getting off the ground.

FreeMan

Good thing they last longer, because the problem with Soviet aircraft is that they are all 30 years old, literally. No upgrades, just using the same military you had in the 80's more or less.

bbfreak

Soviet aircraft rock.

Almost literally, as they are almost all designed to take off and land on less than optimal or worse airfields.

Great stuff!

strider_mt2k

I remember seeing an AN-225 land in Las Vegas one year during Comdex in support of the Ukrainian trade bureau... Not to be ever forgotten, 6 engines, split tail, looked to float like a blimp on approach due to its size. Parked near the outer fence at McCarran and we got pretty close. BFA.

reefdweller

What if they make a gunship out of the 225?

masteryoda

regarding the marine base - my understanding is that most of the commercial AN-124s available were being used to ship some new heavy armored vehicles into iraq, so that might explain it.

i've orchestrated several offloads of these for satellite launches - it's the only commercially viable option to ship a large spacecraft. it seems less huge the more times you work around it :)

monkeybizness

Truly massive, specially the twin vertical stabilizers. BTW, I really like the soundtrack. Anyone knows who it is?

magyar

"but it is still the biggest cargo aircraft in the world"

well.. the Antonov AN-225 is bigger, but there is only one of them (soon to be two). 56 airframes is hardly mass-produced either, but there is still a distinction to be made here.. as the AN-124 is not the biggest cargo aircraft in the world. For good measure, the AN-225 is bigger than the A380.. it's bigger than anything, ever (highest max gross weight takeoff of any aircraft).

barco

This might be the largest "mass-produced" but the AN-225, the big brother of the AN-124 is the largest cargo aircraft in the world.

They're both freaking huge!

hepps

Also, doesn't the FIA normally use one or two of these AN-124's to transport the Formula One Circus to F1 events around the world during normal F1 season?

apeguero

@ekasbury: The first A380-800 is already in commercial service.

MegaZone

@av8thor:

First time I heard of the C5 Galaxy being referred to as the "Aluminium Cloud". I've normally heard it being referred to as the "Aluminium Overcast". But since the Airbus is now flying about, I guess it's been demoted to cloud from overcast.

I've been transported in the C5 Galaxy before. It looks big and feels big. It also kneels at the front in order to facilitate loading from the front.

apeguero

@ekasbury: Singapore Airlines have their first one in service. First passenger flight was to Australia, and the tickets were sold by auction.

stillusesbetamax