The Final Mission of the Biggest Airplane Ever To Fly – The Antonov An-225 "Dream"

Early in February of this year, the colossus of the skies flew from China to Denmark to transport 90 tons of medical equipment. Impressive as it may appear, the payload is merely a warm-up for the An-225. The absolute airlift transport record – set by this same plane – is 253.82 tons.

That's the exact equivalent of four main battle tanks and take that precisely as we put it: the megalodon-class flying heavyweight hauled four war machines over a distance of 560 nm (620 miles, or 1,000 km). Entirely coincidental and unrelated, it set the record on a day that would go down in history – September 11, 2001.

Twenty years and five months later, the heavy long-hauler got another job – delivery of humanitarian medical cargo from Tianjin, China, to Billund in Denmark, via Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. It was to become a historic trip, being the aircraft's last flight before it was shelled while on the ground by the Russian artillery at the very beginning of the Ukraine invasion.

The China-Denmark trip is similar to another of the Dream's record-setters: twelve years ago, in June of 2010, the AN-225 carried two wind turbines from Tianjin, China (eerie coincidence), to Skrydstrup, Denmark. Each blade was 138 feet long (42.1 m).

The airlift operator 26 Aviation recently posted the video of the AN-225's last mission on the company's YouTube Channel (the first video at the end of this article). We can admire the enormous plane's graceful final takeoff, and as it splits the never-ending blue skies, it secretly hints at why it was nicknamed "Dream."

All in all, the surreal flying machine set 127 world aviation records since its maiden flight (see the second video for the inaugural ceremony). Some may say it was a technological masterpiece. Others may call it a work of art. The plane could fill both partie's requests, since it holds the Guiness World Record for the highest painting exhibition on the planet.

Or specifically above the planet, since on September 27, 2012, the "Mriya" (Ukrainian for "Dream") lifted an art exhibition of the Globus Gallery (500 paintings by 120 Ukrainian artists) accommodated in the airplane's cargo compartment to the altitude of 33,300 feet (10,150 meters!).

Speaking of record-setting, the giant established 110 of them in just three hours and 45 minutes. March 22, 1989 - Mriya takes off with 156.3 tons of cargo and puts its name in front of 110 world speed, altitude, and weight-to-altitude bests-in-the-world.

The titan of the skies needed six people to operate during flight. No wonder, given its technical capabilities. It could carry 560 thousand pounds of cargo (253.8 tons) at a speed of 430 kts (500mph, or 800 kph).

It could take off with over 660,000 lb of fuel (300,000 kilograms), and it could fly non-stop for 8,300 nm (9,600 mi - 15,400 km), thanks to six Progress D-18T turbofans, yielding 229.5 kN (51,600 lb-force) of thrust each. The plane's empty weight is a smashing 285 tons, and its maximum takeoff weight tips the scales at 640 tons. The gigantic machine was almost 278 feet (84 meters) long, 290 feet (88 meters) from wingtip to wingtip, and could climb to 36,000 feet (11,000 meters).

Designed as a war-waging ultra-long-distance heavy airlift, it ended its career by gifting humanity an outstanding noble service. While it operated, it was living proof of what magnificence we are capable of, and its demise is again a painful remembrance of what man is infamously apt to perpetrate.

The "Dream" is far more than just an aviation symbol. As one of Ukraine's most outstanding technological achievements, it flew proud and high for 34 years. It became one of the country's national treasures. And, as the Eastern European nation celebrates its 31 Independence Day today, the plane stands as indestructible proof of the power of its name. Ukraine vowed to rebuild the war-ravaged iconic machine and once again send it high and free, overcoming all fleeting foes and sufferings.