The Liberty Gazette
March 15, 2022
Ely Air Lines
By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely
Among the many important tangible pieces of Ukrainian culture that have been blown up is one of their most iconic symbols and a source of national pride, the Antonov An-225 “Mriya.” It was targeted and hit three weeks ago outside the Antonov Airlines hangar at its home airport, Hostomel, in northwestern Kyiv.
Built during the Soviet reign to air-launch the spaceplane MAKS decades ago, after the fall of the Soviet Union and their space program, Mriya became a vehicle for heavy cargo and many humanitarian missions around the world. For some assignments, it was the only aircraft capable.
Ukrainian Petr Balabuev was the chief designer of this, the largest plane ever built (yes, Howard Hughes’ H-4 “Hercules” had a longer wingspan, but it was no match for the An-225), and gave it the nickname Mriya, which means “dream” in Ukrainian.
They dreamed big and saw their dream come true. Mriya could carry more weight than any aircraft in history. It routinely carried trains, for instance. Now that’s some heavy lift!
In September 2001, the Antonov company wanted to show off the magnificent engineering and loaded Mriya with 254 tons in the form of three military tanks into the cargo hold. Mriya didn’t disappoint. She took off, breaking the world record and proving the dream was real.
No wonder Ukraine was so proud of all of this muscle and might. Mriya could do jobs no one else could do, the most important being the staggering amount of humanitarian supplies she transported across the globe over the last two decades.
Mriya had six engines and was flown by a crew of six people, including Chief Pilot, Dmitry Antonov. The design was based on the company’s earlier An-124. Engineers extended the fuselage and wings and strengthened the floor for greater carrying capacity. This in turn required stronger landing gear, so they gave the giant airplane 32 main wheels, some of them steerable. Like the An-124 that birthed it, the An-225’s nose gear could “kneel” to make for easier cargo loading and unloading.
Mriya’s last flight was February 5, 2022, but those at Antonov Airlines say they will rebuild. They could either use parts from the sister ship that was built not for flying, but for ground testing, which remains in the hangar, or, they could complete that sister ship and make it flyable. Like anything else, aircraft can be used for war or peace. The recent viral video of the little girl inside a Kyiv bomb shelter singing “Let It Go,” from the movie, “Frozen,” is the same evidence of the spirit and courage of the Ukrainians as is Mriya.
The people of Ukraine are in our prayers. While we know that we don’t know all the details about this war, we have read that families are being killed and a maternity hospital and a children’s hospital have been bombed. What’s the real story? Only those directly involved, and God know. We pray it ends swiftly, with justice.
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