Antonov An-124 Ruslan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonov_An-124_Ruslan

The Antonov An-124 Ruslan (Russian: ??????? ??-124 "??????") (NATO reporting
name: Condor) is a strategic airlift jet aircraft. It was designed in the 1980s
by the Antonov design bureau in the Ukrainian SSR, then part of the Soviet Union
(USSR). Until the Boeing 747-8F, the An-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 An-225 (a greatly enlarged design
based on the An-124). The An-124 remains the largest military transport aircraft
in the world. The lead designer of the An-124 (and the An-225) was Viktor
Tolmachev.

During development it was known as Izdeliye 400 (Product #400) in house, and
An-40 in the West. First flown in 1982, civil certification was issued on 30
December 1992. In July 2013, 26 An-124s were in commercial service with 10 on
order. In August 2014, it was reported that plans to resume production of the
Antonov An-124 was shelved due to the ongoing political tensions between Russia
and Ukraine. The various operators of the An-124 are in discussions with respect
to the continuing airworthiness certification of the individual An-124 planes.
The original designer of the An-124 is responsible for managing the
certification process for its own products, but Russian/Ukrainian conflicts are
making this process difficult to manage. Military operators are able to
self-certify the airworthiness of their own aircraft, but Russian civil
operators must find a credible outside authority for certification if Ukraine is
unable to participate in the process.

Externally, the An-124 is similar to the American Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, having a
double fuselage to allow for a rear cargo door (on the lower fuselage) that can
open in flight without affecting structural integrity. It is slightly shorter,
with a slightly greater wingspan, and a 25% larger payload. Instead of the
Galaxy's T-tail, the An-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 (150 long tons; 170 short tons) of cargo can be carried in a
military An-124; it can also carry 88 passengers in an upper deck behind the
wing centre section. The cargo compartment of An-124 is 36×6.4×4.4 m (118×21×14
ft), ca. 20% larger than the main cargo compartment of C-5 Galaxy, which is
36.91×5.79×4.09 m (121.1×19.0×13.4 ft). Due to limited pressurisation in the
main cargo compartment (24.6 kPa, 3.57 psi), it seldom carries paratroopers


Role
Transport aircraft

National origin
Soviet Union

Manufacturer
Antonov, Aviastar-SP

First flight
24 December 1982

Introduction
1986

Status
In service

Primary users
Russian Air Force
Antonov Airlines
Volga-Dnepr Airlines

Produced
1982–2004

Number built
55

Unit cost

US$70–100 million


Developed into
Antonov An-225

Germany led the recent effort to lease An-124s for NATO strategic airlift
requirements. Two aircraft are leased from SALIS GmbH as a stopgap until the
Airbus A400M is available. Under NATO SALIS programme NAMSA is chartering six
An-124-100 transport aircraft. According to the contract An-124-100s of Antonov
Airlines and Volga-Dnepr are used within the limits of NATO SALIS programme to
transport cargo by requests of 18 countries: Belgium, Hungary, Greece, Denmark,
Canada, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, United Kingdom, Poland, Portugal,
Slovakia, Slovenia, Finland, France, Germany, Czech Republic and Sweden. Two
An-124-100s are constantly based on full-time charter in the Leipzig/Halle
airport, but the contract specifies that if necessary, two more aircraft will be
provided at six days' notice and another two at nine days' notice. The aircraft
proved extremely useful for NATO especially with ongoing operations in Iraq and
Afghanistan.

On May 1987, an An-124 set a world record, covering the distance of 20,151 km
(10,881 nmi) without refuelling. The flight took 25 hours and 30 minutes; the
takeoff weight was 455,000 kg.

Specifications (An-124-100M-150)

General characteristics
Crew: 4–6 (pilot, copilot, navigator, senior flight engineer (+flight engineer,
radio man) + 2 loadmasters)
Capacity: 88 passengers or the hold can take an additional 350 on a palletised
seating system
Payload: 150,000 kg (330,000 lb)
Length: 68.96 m (226 ft 3 in)
Wingspan: 73.3 m (240 ft 5 in)
Height: 20.78 m (68 ft 2 in)
Wing area: 628 m² (6,760 sq ft)
Empty weight: 175,000 kg (385,000 lb)
Useful load: 230,000 kg (508,000 lb)
Loaded weight: 405,000 kg (893,000 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 405,000 kg (893,000 lb)
Powerplant: 4 × Progress D-18T turbofans, 229.5 kN (51,600 lbf) each

Performance
Maximum speed: 865 km/h (467 kn (537 mph))
Cruise speed: 800–850 km/h (430 kn (490 mph))
Range: 5,200 km (2,808 nm, 3231 mi)
Service ceiling: 12,000 m (39,370 ft)
Wing loading: 645 kg/m² (74.7 lb/sq ft)
Thrust/weight: 0.23
Take-off run distance (maximum take-off weight): 2,520 m (8,270 ft)
Landing roll distance at maximum landing weight: 900 m (3,000 ft)





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