@ Mountain View, CA
October 2022
The An-124 is a frequent visitor to the Bay Area, usually seen landing at Moffett Federal Airfield as was the case recently. This one proudly carries the message “Be Brave Like Kharkiv”. First flown in 1982, 55 of these were produced and approx 20 are in commercial service. Twenty are in service with three civilian operators like Antonov Airlines which operates a fleet of seven for movement of oversize, unique and heavy air cargo. In February 2022, one was destroyed at Antonov Airport in Kyiv by Russian artillery. Often compared to the C-5 Galaxy, the An-124 is slightly shorter, has a greater wingspan and a 17% larger payload. Until the Boeing 747-8F, the An-124 was, for thirty years, the world’s heaviest aircraft gross weight production cargo airplane and remains the largest military transport aircraft in the world.
