Antonov An-225 Transport Aircraft

General characteristics

Crew: 6 
Payload: 250,000 kg (550,000 lb) 
Door dimensions: 440 x 640 cm (14.4 x 21 ft) 
Length: 84 m (275.6 ft) 
Wingspan: 88.4 m (290 ft 2 in) 
Height: 18.1 m (59.3 ft) 
Wing area: 905 m2 (9,743.7 ft2) 
Cargo Volume: 1,300 m3 (46,000 cu ft)) 
Empty weight: 285,000 kg (628,315 lb) 
Max takeoff weight: 640,000 kg (1,323,000 lb) 
Powerplant: 6× ZMKB Progress D-18 turbofans, 229.5 kN (51,600 lbf) each  
Takeoff run: 3,500 m (11,000 ft) with maximum payload 
Performance

Maximum speed: 850 km/h (460 knots, 530 mph) 

Cruise speed: 800 km/h (430 knots, 500 mph) 
Range:

With maximum fuel: 15,400 km (9,570 mi) 

With maximum payload: 4,000 km (2,500 mi)) 
Service ceiling: 11,000 m (36,100 ft) 
Wing loading: 662.9 kg/m² (135.5 lb/ft²) 
Thrust/weight: 0.234

 The comprehensive research of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics has resulted
in several new highly efficient aerofoils. The systematic nature of this research indicates that
the possibility of further marked improvement is remote, and would be of comparatively small
value and costly to discover. Various attempts have been made to so design an aerofoil that it
would develop an especially high L/D ratio, better minimum drag at cruising speed.
 Dihedral is the upward angle of the wings from a horizontal (front/rear view) axis of the plane. The
benefit of a positive dihedral wing, is extra stability on the ROLL axis. Since both wings are angled slightly
up, and if the RIGHT wing were to start rolling down (or clockwise), it will stop when it becomes
perpendicular to the horizontal axis. This is because when the wing reaches 0-degree horizontal angle, it
produces lift, thus raising the right wing back up. This now causes the LEFT wing to to reach 0-degree
horizontal angle, thus making it cause left and rise again.
Because both wings Lift back and forth naturally, it keeps the airplane stable on the ROLL (horizontal)
axis. This design is used on most commercial airlines today to keep them very stable during flight.
 Anhedral is the exact opposite. Instead of lifting the wings and stabilizing the plane, anhedral planes lift
the wing and keep rolling the plane. This makes the airplane very unstable on the roll (horizontal) axis,
but is great for military fighter jets. This allows fighters to be more agile and maneuverable, rather than
being stable.

 universal theories. The differential lift theory (top image in this post) doesn't explain  why high mounted
straight wings (no dihedral) make a plane stable. But side-slip does: side-slip creates a sideways
drag component on the wing. That force then (with the help of the tail) creates roll torque which levels the
plane.
based on the huge An-124, itself larger than the U.S. C-5 Galaxy, but with a 50%
improvement in payload, the An-225 is simply the largest aircraft ever built, and flown more
than once. The An-225 added 50 feet to stretch the fuselage, 6 engines instead of 4, and 7
pairs of wheels per side instead of 5. It also utilized a newly designed wing root assembly to
support a 50 foot increase in wing length.
 A supercritical airfoil is an airfoil designed, primarily, to delay the onset of wave drag in
the transonic speed range. Supercritical airfoils are characterized by their flattened upper
surface, highly cambered (curved) aft section, and greater leading edge radius as compared to
traditional airfoil shapes

 The supercritical airfoil, below, maintains a lower Mach number over its upper surface than the
conventional airfoil, above, which induces a weaker shock.
  four main benefits:
o They have a higher drag divergence Mach number. 
o They develop shock waves farther aft than traditional airfoils.
o They greatly reduce shock-induced boundary layer separation.
o Their geometry allows for more efficient wing design (e.g., a thicker wing and/or
reduced wing sweep, each of which may allow for a lighter wing).

 Air brakes are a type of flight control surface used on an aircraft to increase drag or increase the
angle of approach during landing.

 All-moving fin: The advantage is that all of the fin’s surface can be used to

overcome a side wind during takeoff and landing.

  Wing loadings are usually given in either lb/ft2 or kg/m2, and occasionally in N/m2. Wing loadings
of 10 lb/ft2, 48.8 kg/m2 and 479 N/m2 are the same.
Range of wing loadings

Fun
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160[4 DC-3 B-17 B-36 F-104 A380 B747
ft Z3[2][3] ]
21 rt 17 C42 a 152 RV-4 e tt Bf-109 er 11F

Wing
Loadin
g 3.9 6.3 33 38 38 51 67 123 158 173 190 272 311 514 663 740 844
(kg/m2
)

fighter
hang
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Role glide fighter fighter fighter fighter
er r ht e s r r r bombe r r r
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Year 2010 2007 1990 1916 1997 1978 1980 1936 1942 1941 1938 1949 1998 1958 2007 1970 1990

 The table, which shows wing loadings is intended to give a feeling for the range of wing loadings
used by human-built aircraft. Maximum weights have been used. There will be variations
amongst variants of any particular type. The dates are approximate, indicating period of
introduction.

 Larger wings move more air, so an aircraft with a large wing area relative to its mass (i.e., low
wing loading) will have more lift at any given speed. 
 The use of Fowler flaps increases the wing area, decreasing the wing loading which allows
slower landing approach speeds.