World's Largest Plane Sighting - Antonov AN-124

[jordanal 70]

I just saw the world's largest plane land here in Charleston this afternoon with a good view from my office window. It is the Antonov AN-124-100. This is the Russian version of the US Galaxy-C5A that was made bigger.Geez, this thing was huge! I've never seen so many wheels at once. Here is the public story behind why it's here:http://public.charleston.amc.af.mil/photos...?galleryID=1539http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/177118.jpg

[Mace 1,902]

>I just saw the world's largest plane land here in Charleston>this afternoon with a good view from my office window. It is>the Antonov AN-124-100. This is the Russian version of the US>Galaxy-C5A that was made bigger.>Al isn't the An-225 bigger?http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonov_An-225Of course it's only a 1-off aircraft...An124 is the largest mass-produced aircraft.RhettAMD 3700+ (@2585 mhz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (Guru3D 93.71), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2gb Corsair XMS 3-3-3-8 (1T), WD 150 gig 10000rpm Raptor, WD 250gig 7200rpm SATA2, Seagate 120gb 5400 rpm external HD, CoolerMaster Praetorian

[jordanal 70]

Welp, Nope, I have to agree with you, it would appear the 225 is bigger and I stand corrected. I didn't realise the two largest were both named Antonov. It was still #### cool to watch this thing on approach today though.

[dfish 1]

I see here at CYYZ (Toronto Pearson)quite often..........Dave FisherCYYZP4 Prescott 3.2e 478p 800mhz 1mg CPUP4P800SE Asus Motherboard2.5 gig PC3200 DDR RAM 400MHZGeForce 7600GT/512 OC'dMaxtor 80 Gig ATA 133 HD x2WDC WD800 80 Gig HDAntec 500watt true powerSharp 19 inch LCD MonitorSaitek AV8R-01 Joystickhttp://www.jdtllc.com/images/rcv4bannersupporter.jpg

[Mace 1,902]

> It was still #### cool to>watch this thing on approach today though.I would have really liked to have seen that. You are lucky.I bet it was like an aluminum overcast with that thing.I think the biggest a/c I have seen land in person is a B-52.EDIT: Oh, I meant to ask, how loud was the an-124? Maybe no louder than any other big jet on final I suppose?RhettAMD 3700+ (@2585 mhz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (Guru3D 93.71), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2gb Corsair XMS 3-3-3-8 (1T), WD 150 gig 10000rpm Raptor, WD 250gig 7200rpm SATA2, Seagate 120gb 5400 rpm external HD, CoolerMaster Praetorian

[jordanal 70]

Never heard it, nice and quiet. Definitly not that very unique sound of the C-5A which if you've ever heard that, you'll recognize it immediatly, the rest of your life. Obviously the engines are different. The C-5's also fly in here reqularly now as well.And of course we have the largest fleet of C-17's. One day a couple months ago, the C-17's set a new record over Charleston of something like 23 aircraft in a single formation in some kind of excersise. My wife was driving home from work when she saw this and thought we were being invaded, LOL!All of these aircraft are nice and quiet, even our occasional Polar Air Cargo 747. I was so glad when the old C-141's (predecesors to the C-17s) finally left the area. Those things were rediculasly loud on final, and would routinely wake you up in the middle of the night.The URL link at the OP has some cool shots of the C-17 over Charleston along with our new bridge.BTW, I should mention, I have absolutely nothing to do with the AF around here. Just a regular aircraft enthusist.

[btacon 1,772]

only "wierd". Ever seen one take off? It points down to go up!My 2 centsbt (Minot AFB 1992 - 1996)

[RFields5421 1]

A B-52 is a big combat plane, but by no means the biggest plane in the USAF inventory. It's about 90 feet shorter in length and 40 feet shorter wingspan and half the MTOW of a C-5.It isn't even the largest bomber - the B-36 was longer and had a bigger wingspan.But the BUFF was a great aircraft quite capable of carrying an amazing weapons load.I got to watch some takeoff from Anderson in 1972 for combat missions. They would lift into the ground effect, but not climb more than a relatively few feet as they gained speed. When they went over the edge of the north cliff, they would actually drop below the line of the cliffs. After a couple minutes they would come back into view as they climbed to the tanker.These birds were taking off with maximum weapons loads and minimal fuel - needing to tank within the first 30 minutes before they could head for their second tank near the Philippines.I also saw several come back in during December 1972 streaming smoke from combat damage - just like watching a WWII movie - but it was live, real and only a thousand feet or so over our heads.

[scott967 62]

The BUFFs (G) used to have a Harpoon mission, using a system called HACLS. I was at some Harpoon conference and an air force guy got up to discuss status of B-52 program (this was after the VS and VP guys said their thing). He started his talk with "Real pilots have 8 throttles...".scott s..