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An-124 Condor
Large jet transport. The An-124 has a bulbuous fuselage with a
hinged nose and a rear loading ramp. The moderately swept wing
is set high, with four podded jet engines underneath. The An-124
was the largest aircraft in the world until the An-225 appeared.
Besides the military, it has found commercial users, especially
for the transport of outsized loads.
The largest production airplane in the world. Introduced to
the west at the Paris Airshow of 1985, it succeeded the C-5A
Galaxy in the role of world's biggest. Construction continues in
Kiev, Ukraine and Ulyanovsk, Russia.
An-124 was created in the tradition of An-22 to be the largest transport aircraft in the world. It is larger than the C-5B Galaxy, but smaller than the An-225 Mriya (NATO named Cossack) which carries the Russian space shuttle. The first prototype (SSSR 82002, Number 318) flew on December 26, 1982. The wings are high-mounted, swept-back, and tapered with curved tips and negative slant. Four turbofans are mounted on pylons under the wings. The fuselage is a thick oval in cross-section with a rounded nose and tapering to the rear. The tail fin is swept-back and tapered with rounded tips. Flats are swept-back, tapered, and mid-mounted on the body.
The first appearance by an An-124 Ruslan in the United States was CCCP-82007 at the Aerospace America Airshow at Brown Field in San Diego in May 1988. The main landing gear of the An-124 Ruslan has five pairs of wheels on each side. The nose gear and front two pairs of main gear on each side are steerable.
Specifications
