Michael_Stones
Member
The Antonov An-124 is a Ruslan strategic airlift jet aircraft. It was designed in the 1980s by the Antonov design bureau in the Soviet Union (USSR). The An-124 was for thirty years (i.e., until 2011) 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 commercial version of the Antonov AN-124 has the designation 100M, of which about 26 remain operational.
An Antonov AN-124 100M visited our airport in Thunder Bay three times this past year to deliver railway car materials from Austria to the Bombarier railcar factory. The local paper reported the cost per journey approximated $1million. The Bombarier factory had historical importance for the aircraft industry because a previous owner (the Canadian Car and Foundry Company) manufactured Hawker Hurricance fighter planes there during WW2. More than half the workforce were women directed by chief engineer Elsie McGill. The latter, known as "Queen of the Hurricanes", was likely the world's first woman to earn an aeronautical engineering degree and the first woman in Canada to receive a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering.
Along with some other interested folk, I went to the airport last Thursday to watch the Antonov take off for its return to Europe. The first photo shows a truck pushing the plane from its parking place to the runway. The people seem the size of ants when walking alongside the plane.
The sturdy truck did its job of pushing well, but the effort clearly exhaused it (pun intended). With the job done, clouds of smoke emerged as the poor vehicle struggled to make its way back to the mechanic's shop for repairs. I hope it recovered. Should I have sent flowers?
The Antonov taxied to the start of the runway and revved its engines. Look at the dust cloud behing the plane's tail. The cars in the parking lot would need to visit the carwash later that day. Who'd pay for that?
Then take-off! I was amazed how quickly the plane accelerated down the runway. Apparently, the plane needs 1.5 miles of runway when fully loaded, but it was empty this time.
Bye bye Antonov. I hope see you again next time you visit. Mike
An Antonov AN-124 100M visited our airport in Thunder Bay three times this past year to deliver railway car materials from Austria to the Bombarier railcar factory. The local paper reported the cost per journey approximated $1million. The Bombarier factory had historical importance for the aircraft industry because a previous owner (the Canadian Car and Foundry Company) manufactured Hawker Hurricance fighter planes there during WW2. More than half the workforce were women directed by chief engineer Elsie McGill. The latter, known as "Queen of the Hurricanes", was likely the world's first woman to earn an aeronautical engineering degree and the first woman in Canada to receive a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering.
Along with some other interested folk, I went to the airport last Thursday to watch the Antonov take off for its return to Europe. The first photo shows a truck pushing the plane from its parking place to the runway. The people seem the size of ants when walking alongside the plane.
The sturdy truck did its job of pushing well, but the effort clearly exhaused it (pun intended). With the job done, clouds of smoke emerged as the poor vehicle struggled to make its way back to the mechanic's shop for repairs. I hope it recovered. Should I have sent flowers?
The Antonov taxied to the start of the runway and revved its engines. Look at the dust cloud behing the plane's tail. The cars in the parking lot would need to visit the carwash later that day. Who'd pay for that?
Then take-off! I was amazed how quickly the plane accelerated down the runway. Apparently, the plane needs 1.5 miles of runway when fully loaded, but it was empty this time.
Bye bye Antonov. I hope see you again next time you visit. Mike
