The An-225 Mriya (NATO reporting name: Cossack) is a strategic airlift transport aircraft which was built by Antonov, and is the world's largest flying airplane ever built by the most commonly accepted measure,[1] maximum gross takeoff weight. The design, built to transport the Buran orbiter, was an enlargement of the successful An-124 Ruslan. Mriya means "dream" (inspiration) in Ukrainian. With a maximum gross weight of 640 tonnes (1,411,000 lb), the An-225 is the world's heaviest and largest aircraft. The Hughes H-4 Hercules, known to most as the "Spruce Goose", had a greater wingspan and a greater overall height, but is considerably shorter, and due to the materials used in its construction, also lighter. In addition, the Hercules only flew once and never climbed above 70 ft, making the An-225 the largest aircraft in the world to take off multiple times.[2] The An-225 is also larger than the Airbus A380 airliner, and considerably bigger than the Antonov An-124, 747-400ERF, and C-5 Galaxy, the nearest equivalent heavy airlifters. In November 2004, FAI placed the An-225 in the Guinness Book of Records for its 240 records. [read more]

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