Huge Aircraft (Antonov AN-124)

[Latka]

I don't know if anyone else on the board is interested in aviation, but we've got a fairly rare visitor to Honolulu today. The aircraft is an Antonov An-124 "Ruslan". It's a positively gigantic Russian cargo plane operated by the Volga-Dneper heavy lift cargo company.

It looks similar to this plane that I photographed a few years ago but it has a big dark blue stripe running down the side and up the tail.

http://www.hawaiitalks.net/photopost/data/500/AN124.jpg

It's scheduled to leave around 3pm this afternoon. If you've ever seen a C-5 "Galaxy", this sucker is even bigger!

(check out the pickup truck parked by the landing gear for an idea of the size)

-Andy

[REH]

Isn't this Russian monster the biggest plane in the world? I've been noticing this plane flying over the race track on a regular basis. What's it doing here?

[Latka]

Not *this* particular one but the AN-225 "Mirya" (I think that's the name - "The Dream"). It has 6 engines and a twin tail. It has been here once - a 2004 I think it was.

It comes out here and stops at Kaneohe. The military uses it when their own planes can't transport something due to the size.

[ArchangelX]

C-5 Galaxies are freakin' HUUUUUGE. It's scary to think how big this thing is. :crazy:

I still think it looks totally unnatural to see this big, huge, metal thing hanging up there in the sky. :scared:

By the way....the current google ad is "Buy Boeing Airplanes!". Yaaaa...sure. :wtf:

[Latka]

A cool 37.5 Million will get you an executive 767-200ER with 40-some-odd seats. How cool would *that* be?

"That your plane?"
"Oh...that thing? Yeah that's mine." All totally nonchalant and whatnot :)

[ArchangelX]

"Yeah...got tired of flyin' Delta, so I just bought my own. Ho Hum."

:hilarious:

[Latka]

If anyone lives in town...and it's not raining like a mofo like yesterday you should see it fly by. Very distinct engine sound (well, to me at least)... I'm a geek about planes.

[gofaster]

The Concorde was here several years ago. They were offering "rides" for around $1,000. They fly so high the sky is black. You can see stars and the curvature of the Earth. I happen to be driving by the airport on H1 and pulled over into the breakdown lane (so did everyone else) to watch it take off.

:plane:

[REH]

You ever seen an SR71 take off (we called this plane "The Habu")? Talking about people pulling over to watch. You almost have to if you're close enough, it's so loud. The thing goes verticle right after take off and when it disappears into the stratosfier (spelling), you can still hear it.http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g290/trackblazer/SR71a.jpg About an hour before this thing leaves the ground, they send up a tanker plane for refueling. I heard the Black Bird has to refuel because it loses and burns ALL it's fuel after take off.
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g290/trackblazer/SR71.jpg

[dkmini]

You ever seen an SR71 take off (we called this plane "The Habu")? Talking about people pulling over to watch. You almost have to if you're close enough, it's so loud. The thing goes verticle right after take off and when it disappears into the stratosfier (spelling), you can still hear it. About an hour before this thing leaves the ground, they send up a tanker plane for refueling. I heard the Black Bird has to refuel because it loses and burns ALL it's fuel after take off.

In '73 my Dad took me to Kadena to see the SR71s because I was also a aeronautical nut. Was AWESOME!

I started my undergrad in Aerospace Engineering at Cal Poly and we use to have the best guest lecturers. Rutan came before his famous flight. Had Chuck Yeagar speak about his test flights. But the best was when we had a team of the original SR71 (YF-12) guys (Engineers, pilots, etc.) come to tell us the beginnings; evindently, everytime the Blackbird flys it leaks SO much it's scary! :eek:

[Devil Boy]

I used to work at Hickam as an A&P on a Gulfstream G-3 that the military was flying and our hangar was near the end of one of the runways (I forget which one) when two B-1 bombers took off with full afterburner. It was kona winds that day too, so thet were lifting off right over our heads. Words can't describe how loud that was, you couldn't even breathe.

[Latka]

The B-1 (aka "BONE") has purple afterburners, too. Im not 100% sure, but I think purple makes it faster. ;)

Saw a U-2 lift off from HNL a couple of years ago. He took off from 8L and was airborne before taxiways G & L...and then went up and up and up. I never knew the U-2 had that much power!

[REH]

In '73 my Dad took me to Kadena to see the SR71s because I was also a aeronautical nut. Was AWESOME!

I started my undergrad in Aerospace Engineering at Cal Poly and we use to have the best guest lecturers. Rutan came before his famous flight. Had Chuck Yeagar speak about his test flights. But the best was when we had a team of the original SR71 (YF-12) guys (Engineers, pilots, etc.) come to tell us the beginnings; evindently, everytime the Blackbird flys it leaks SO much it's scary! :eek:

Kadena! Yeah, the "Habu" squadron was based out of Kadena Air Force base, Okinawa. They would be armed guards securing the SR71 hanger 24/7. Every now and then you would see some guy driving around in a flight suit in a beat up old minivan with their Habu logo on the rear window. Okinawa has similar weather as Hawaii, so in the summer time in the late afternoon when the sun is setting the Habu would take off. It was breath taking! You would almost think that the Airforce did this on purpose to put on a spectacular show.

[dkmini]

The B-1 (aka "BONE") has purple afterburners, too. Im not 100% sure, but I think purple makes it faster. ;)

Saw a U-2 lift off from HNL a couple of years ago. He took off from 8L and was airborne before taxiways G & L...and then went up and up and up. I never knew the U-2 had that much power!

B-1 was my first project as an intern at Cherry Textron (aerospace fastners). Did work in metallugical analysis group. My time at Textron was when I decided that the aerospace industry was not for me......I discovered an assembly flaw for Fokker but got absolutely no credit for my work and realized I was just a number (engineer #2,589,633......or something like that). SO long ago.....ugh, feel old again.

[dkmini]

Kadena! Yeah, the "Habu" squadron was based out of Kadena Air Force base, Okinawa. They would be armed guards securing the SR71 hanger 24/7. Every now and then you would see some guy driving around in a flight suit in a beat up old minivan with their Habu logo on the rear window. Okinawa has similar weather as Hawaii, so in the summer time in the late afternoon when the sun is setting the Habu would take off. It was breath taking! You would almost think that the Airforce did this on purpose to put on a spectacular show.

All the other Far East bases had the "cool" stuff......being a MAC base Yokota only had C-130, C-141, KC-135 and C-5. We'd hit the jackpot when there was a typhoon in Okinawa, Philipines, or Korea as they would temporarily move the planes to Yokota. We could tell when cool stuff was about to arrive as tons of Japanese aero-photographers would line-up along the base fence by the flight line.......how the heck did they know this stuff?

[gofaster]

It must have been comforting for the SR71 pilots to know that they could put the hammer down and outrun a surface-to-air missile. :burnoutgif:

[Latka]

Only if they were already "at speed' and far away. There were SAMs specifically designed to counter the U-2 and SR-71 threat unfortunately. Then again, the MiG-25 was put into service as a high-altitude interceptor and could almost match the SR's speed itself! Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge Tumanski (?) engines on that sucker.

[dkmini]

Only if they were already "at speed' and far away. There were SAMs specifically designed to counter the U-2 and SR-71 threat unfortunately. Then again, the MiG-25 was put into service as a high-altitude interceptor and could almost match the SR's speed itself! Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge Tumanski (?) engines on that sucker.

All those years in AIAA and I didn't even know that the MiG-25 was that fast! No wonder I switched to Mechanical. BTW, here's a good quick reference (Latka probably already knows it) : http://www.combataircraft.com/

[gofaster]

Only if they were already "at speed' and far away. There were SAMs specifically designed to counter the U-2 and SR-71 threat unfortunately. Then again, the MiG-25 was put into service as a high-altitude interceptor and could almost match the SR's speed itself! Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge Tumanski (?) engines on that sucker.

More like the SR71 was specifically designed to outrun the SAMs (and they did). Unlike the U2, the SR71 was never shot down. They were retired because newer satellites could do the same recon cheaper and safer.:duel:

[gofaster]

Hey there's a Mig-25! You never know where you're going to stumble across a bunch of these 2,000 mph aircraft...

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d122/spicedrvr/mig.jpg

[Devil Boy]

I heard about this when I was in Iraq. We always thought it would be awesome if we actually found a Mig when we were mine sweeping for weapons cache searches. Those crazy haji's bury everything.

[dkmini]

Hey there's a Mig-25! You never know where you're going to stumble across a bunch of these 2,000 mph aircraft...


Awesome find!

Wait but is this a MiG-25?

[Latka]

Gofaster, you're right... The SR-71 is quite a beast!

DK, that's a MiG-25. A buried MiG, but a MiG nonetheless. ;)

Here's one in the air.
http://photos.airliners.net/photos/middle/9/7/3/0412379.jpg

It's a MiG-25Tu from what I remember... one of the 2 seat trainers.

[dkmini]

DK, that's a MiG-25. A buried MiG, but a MiG nonetheless. ;)



The cockpit area looked different to me.

[Edit : never mind, I found a photo with a different angle. http://www.dixiesappers.org/misc/jet/jet.html]

http://www.dixiesappers.org/misc/jet/mig25_3.jpe

http://www.dixiesappers.org/misc/jet/mig25_4.jpe

[Latka]

yeah...they never had a "real" 2 seat trainer, so when they decided to make one they put that funky nose on that's on the picture I posted.

...burying a MiG. Can you imagine how much work it'd take to get that thing back in the air? Sheesh!