The An-225 parked at Paris Air Show in 2001. AP photo
If you want to see the world's largest plane -- no, not the A380 -- get out to Boeing Field by about 5 p.m. today, Friday.
The six-engine Antonov An-225 is supposed to land there between 5 and 5:30. Its cargo is four GE 777 engines that are being delivered to Boeing's propulsion unit at Boeing Field. Usually, Boeing's jet engines are delivered by smaller cargo planes, including the Antonov An-124.
You can track the progress of the An-225 flight to Boeing Field here.
The plane will leave early Saturday morning. It will be parked on the west side of Boeing Field, just north of the tower.
No one that I talked to can recall the An-225 ever landing at either Boeing Field or Sea-Tac Airport, although the plane may have made an appearance at the annual air show at Paine Field in Everett several years ago.
The An-225 was designed to carry Russia's space shuttle, much like the 747 is used to transport the U.S. shuttles.
The An-225 first flew in 1988. But it was soon grounded after the former Soviet Union canceled its Buran shuttle program. The shuttle flew only once on an unmanned flight. It's now a ride in a Moscow theme park.
Only one An-225 Mriya was built. The plane was subsequently taken out of storage, modernized and then flown to the 2001 Paris Air Show.
I was fortunate to tour the plane during the show that year. It's impressive.
The Russians hoped they could use the show to drum up business for their plane, which can carry 275 tons of cargo 2,790 miles. They did. It's been hauling various cargo since the air show.
The An-225 Mriya has a wingspan of 291 feet. That's 80 feet longer than the wingspan of Boeing's 747-400 and about 20 feet longer than the wingspan of the Airbus A380.
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