Genesis
Variants
The uniquely capable Antonov An-124 is the world's largest production cargo aircraft, yet it was only built in small numbers due to the collapse of Communism in the early 1990s. Today this unique aircraft is the star performer of the international heavy-lift cargo market and is in such high demand that series-production is being resumed.
Genesis
Variants
Genesis
Development of the An-124 started in the late
1970s as a replacement for Antonov's turboprop An-22 transport. This giant
aircraft had been the largest aircraft in the world for a time, until the
title was taken over by the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy in 1968.
By mid-1977 work was well under way on what was initially called the An-40
(sometimes An-400) by the West and Condor by NATO. Five years later, on December
26 1982, the An-124's maiden flight took place.
The first production An-124 was proudly displayed at the 1985 Paris Air Show
in what was the West's first view of the type. Once the Ruslan's awesome dimensions
had been revealed, the An-124 snatched the title of world's largest aircraft
away from the rival C-5 Galaxy and continued Antonov's tradition of building
the world's largest aircraft.
The mighty Ruslan scored a number of Cold War points for the Soviet Union
as it not only gained the title of world's largest aircraft, but also continued
to trump its American rival by setting a string of 30 world records. On July
26 1985 the An-124 lifted an unprecedented payload of 377 473 pounds (171
219 kg) to 35 269 feet (10 750 m). In doing so it exceeded the C-5's record
of lifting a payload to 6 560 ft (2 000 m) by 53%. The incredible An-124 went
on to set around 30 world records; between May 6 and 7 1987 an An-124 set
a closed-circuit distance record by flying a gruelling 12 521 miles (20 151
km) in 25.5 hours without refuelling. The previous record was held by a Boeing
B-52H Stratofortress when it flew 11 337 miles (18 245 km). In 1993 the An-124
set yet another record by carrying a Siemens Company powerplant generator
and cradle weighing 298 065 pounds (135.2 tonnes) from Dusseldorf to Delhi:
the single heaviest commercial load ever transported by air. And in 1994 the
Ruslan moved the heaviest commercial shipment in one flight when it carried
a 321 875 pound (146 tonne) payload.
The An-124 entered service commercially in January 1986 and deliveries to
the VTA (Russian Air Forces transport arm) began in the following year in
spite of the fact the aircraft was developed as a strategic military transport
with commercial operations intended to come second.
The
aircraft
The An-124 was designed as a strategic
military transport and as such is able to quickly load/offload cargo. This
ability is facilitated by the upward hinging visor-type nose in addition to
the rear fuselage loading ramp/door, allowing rapid roll-on roll-off cargo
handling. The Ruslan has also been designed to operate from unprepared fields
and its robust landing gear can handle rough ground, hard packed snow and
even ice-covered swampland. The steerable nosewheels allow turns on runways
just 148 feet (45 m) wide. With remote area operations in mind, the An-124
has hatches in the upper deck that provide access to the wing and tail unit
to facilitate maintenance when proper equipment is unavailable.
In order to carry heavy loads, the Antonov design bureau made some use of
advanced materials to make the An-124 as light and strong as possible in critical
areas. The cargo hold floor is constructed of titanium, and composites make
up more than 16 145 square feet (1 500 sq m) of surface area. These composites
weight 12 125 pounds (5 500 kg) and save more than 4 409 pounds (2 000 kg).
Otherwise the An-124's structure is conventional light alloy metal.
As previously mentioned, the An-124 has been designed to operate from unprepared
airstrips and as a result has heavy duty landing gear with no less than 24
wheels. The two main units each have five inward retracting legs with two
wheels each. In line with the aim of remote operations, the front two wheels
on each main unit are steerable. The nose gear consists of two independent
forward-retracting units with two steerable wheels each to improve manoeuvrability,
giving a turning radius of just 64 feet 4 inches (19.6 m). The two nose units
are mounted side by side. The main landing gear legs can retract individually
for easy repair or wheel change.
The An-124 has a very useful feature for easy cargo loading and unloading:
by retracting the nosewheels the aircraft can kneel on two extendable 'feet'
and therefore give the cargo hold floor a 3.5 degree slope. The process takes
3 minutes to lower the aircraft and 6.5 minutes to raise it back up again.
In addition, the rear fuselage can also be lowered by compressing the main
landing gear oleos.
Because it is relatively easy to load, the An-124 can accommodate almost any
payload up to 330 700 pounds (150 000 kg): main battle tanks, complete missile
systems, oil well equipment, earth movers - even Airbus wings - have been
transported in the Ruslan's cavernous 40 965 cubic feet (1 160 cu m) interior,
which measures a humbling 119 feet 8.25 inches (36.48 m) by 21 feet (6.4 m)
and is 14 feet 5.25 inches (4.4 m) high. The An-124 can also accommodate 12
standard ISO containers and military aircraft are able to airdrop up to 16
pallets each weighing up to 9 920 pounds (4 500 kg).
Further testimony to the An-124's massive cargo capacity is the fact that
it has carried many unusual and interesting payloads, such as a 240 300 pound
(109 tonne) locomotive (from Canada to Ireland in September 2001), a Lockheed
EP-3 (in July 2001 during the US-China spyplane incident), Boeing Chinook
helicopters (three at a time), yachts for the America's Cup races, and even
the fuselage of a Tupolev Tu-204 passenger transport.
The An-124 is well-equipped with cargo handling apparatus, and this consists
of rollgangs and retractable attachments for cargo tiedowns; two winches able
to pull 6 614 pounds (3 000 kg) and two electric travelling cranes. The latter
are mounted in the roof of the hold, each with two lifting points, and can
in total lift 44 092 pounds (20 000 kg). To keep an eye on cargo in flight
there is a narrow catwalk along each cargo bay sidewall.
The cargo hold is accessed from the front by the hydraulically operated upward
hinged nose, which simultaneously extends a folding nose ramp. The nose takes
seven minutes to open fully and is steadied against any wind by reinforcing
arms. No links (such as hydraulic or electrical) are broken when the nose
is open.
The An-124's simpler hydraulically operated rear loading doors open much faster
than the nose, taking just 3 minutes, including the extension of a three-part
folding ramp. Behind the ramp the centre fuselage undersurface hinges upwards
whilst clamshell doors on each side open downwards/outwards.
In addition to the An-124 being able to carry an unprecedented 330 700 pound
(150 000 kg) payload, the aircraft can also accommodate 360 troops (and two
lavatories) in the cargo hold. Oxygen bottles also need to be carried, since
the hold is only lightly pressurised and does not normally carry people. However,
in September 1990 an An-124 carried 451 Bangladeshi refugees from Amman to
Dacca. Alternatively the An-124 can carry no less than 268 paratroops in two
masses. The aircraft also has an enormous medevac capability, being able to
carry 288 stretchers and 28 attendants. Above the cargo hold, behind the wing
carry-through is a passenger cabin for 88 people.
In front of the passenger deck is a comprehensive rest/living area for the
crew, which is useful on long flights or when operating in remote areas, as
the An-124 was designed to do. The crew are provided with toilets, washing
facilities, a galley and equipment compartment. There are also two cabins
for up to six relief crew, with a table and facing bench seats convertible
into bunks.
Forward of the crew rest area is the large flight deck, accommodating six
crew in pairs, with place for a loadmaster in a lobby area. The crew consists
of pilot and co-pilot, two flight engineers, a navigator and communications
specialist. On commercial flights even more crew are carried: 10 to 12 cargo
handlers and servicing staff.
Instrumentation for the flight crew is mostly conventional/analogue and does
not include any electronic displays. On the pilot's centre console there is
a moving map display as well as a weather radar screen. The displays are fed
by two radars in the An-124's large nose: a forward-looking weather radar
and a downward-looking ground mapping and navigation radar. Other navigation
equipment includes quadruple Inertial Navigation Systems, Loran and Omega.
In addition, there is a satellite navigation receiver above the fuselage.
Lifting the An-124's considerable bulk (around 882 000 pounds [400 000 kg]
fully loaded) are four immensely powerful ZMKB Progress/Ivchenko D-18T turbofans
each delivering 51 590 pounds (23 400 kg) of thrust. In line with the Ruslan's
requirements to operate from basic airfields, the engines have thrust reversers
which make the landing run surprisingly short for such a heavy aircraft: just
2 955 feet (900 m) at maximum landing weight.
The engines are provided with 76 714 Imp gallons (348 740 litres) of fuel
in ten integral wing tanks. This provides a range of 2 795 miles (4 500 km)
when fully loaded. However, range varies considerably according to the load
carried. For example, when carrying an 88 184 pound (40 000 kg) payload the
range is a much greater 7 456 miles (12 000 km).
For engine starting there is an Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) in the rear of
each landing gear fairing. The APUs can also be used (both in the air and
on the ground) to open the rear loading doors for airdropping freight, or
for normal ground loading/unloading. They also supply the Ruslan's electrical,
hydraulic and air conditioning systems.
The An-124 has supercritical wings to avoid buffeting at high speeds, with
a sweepback of about 35 degrees on the inboard leading edge and 32 degrees
outboard. The wing is relatively thick (12%) to give high aerodynamic efficiency
and consequently give a long flight range. As a typical Russian aircraft expected
to operate in cold climates, the An-124 has critical areas de-iced. Its wing
leading edges are heated by engine bleed air whilst the fin and tailplane
leading edges are electrically de-iced.
The Ruslan is a big, and therefore tricky, aircraft to fly, but this task
has been made easier by a quadruple redundant fly-by-wire flight control system,
with a fifth mechanical channel for emergency use. The hydraulically actuated
flying controls consist of two-section ailerons, three-section single-slotted
Fowler flaps and six-section full-span leading edge flaps on each wing. There
are 12 spoilers on each wing forward of the trailing edge flaps, including
four airbrakes. All control runs are channelled along the fuselage roof.
The Ruslan has many positive and expedient aspects to it, such as an unrivalled
payload capacity, ability to operate in remote areas with cold climates, easy
loading/unloading ability and good rough-field performance. However, the An-124
had one huge problem: a pathetically short airframe service life of just 7
500 hours and an engine life of just 1 250 hours. Apparently these ratings
were so low because of the belief that such specialised aircraft would seldom
be used. This led to a conflict between Antonov and commercial users of the
An-124, especially the Russian heavy-lift airline Volga-Dnepr. And so in July
2000 Volga-Dnepr and Antonov signed a contract to extend the An-124's service
life to 12 000 hours. Now aircraft delivered from 2000 onwards (An-124-100s)
have much more realistic 24 000 hour airframe and engine lives. A service-life
extension program is now in place for older An-124s and some aircraft from
Volga-Dnepr and Antonov Airlines are being upgraded to the even better An-124-100M
standard (see below).
Customers
The Russian Air Forces procured 22 An-124s, but 11 were put in storage and
one was sold (to Polet in 2003). The military An-124s that were in service
were grounded in December 2005 at an air force base near Bryansk. It seems
that they were underutilised and very expensive to maintain, and so in August
2007 the Russian Minister of Defence apparently offered to sell the entire
military fleet, starting with an initial batch of four aircraft. However,
it appears that some of the aircraft may be upgraded first, since the Russian
Air Force ordered 10 D-18T engines for its Ruslans in early September 2007.
The main civilian operators are Antonov Airlines, Polet And Volga-Dnepr. Antonov
Airlines operates seven aircraft and Volga-Dnepr operates ten An-124s. Polet's
fleet consists of eight Ruslans.
There are also a couple of smaller operators. Libyan Air Cargo, based at Tripoli
International Airport in Libya, operates two An-124-100s that were bought
and delivered in 2001/2002. Maximus Air Cargo based in Abu Dhabi operates
a single An-124-100, which was purchased and delivered in 2004. This aircraft
was originally destined for Atlant Soyuz Airlines but Maximus Air Cargo offered
more than the contractual price and obtained the An-124.
The first international commercial user of the An-124 was the British AirFoyle
based at London Stansted Airport, which operated in partnership with Antonov
Airlines from July 1989. The second international operator was Heavylift from
the UK, which began operating in collaboration with Volga-Dnepr in the early
1990s. However, this alliance later ceased in 2000. Heavylift then teamed
up with AirFoyle in February 2001 to become Air Foyle Heavylift and operated
seven aircraft.
At the end of June 2006 Antonov did not renew its contract with Air Foyle
Heavylift and instead teamed up with Volga-Dnepr to form a joint venture called
Ruslan International. The new company now jointly markets the 17-aircraft
fleets of both Antonov Airlines and Volga-Dnepr and aims to reduce costs and
improve the services offered, especially to the short-notice demand cargo
market. It also allows Antonov and Volga-Dnepr to better serve its long-term
customers and finance and develop better variants of the An-124.
In what can be regarded as a compliment to the capable An-124, NATO is now
operating a couple of Ruslans under the Strategic Airlift Interim Solution
(SALIS), with four more available on request. The aircraft are from the company
Ruslan SALIS GmbH, which represents Antonov and Volga-Dnepr. The two An-124-100s
are based at Leipzig airport and provide a guaranteed 2 000 flying hours per
year. The lease contract was signed in February 2006 and came into effect
in late March. It is valid for three years, but will be renewed every year
until 2012, when the Airbus A400M transport finally enters service and the
stopgap An-124 is no longer needed.
In addition to NATO, the United States Air Mobility Command has been using
the Ruslan to transport outsize cargo, even though they have in service the
C-5 Galaxy, the second largest serially-produced cargo aircraft in the world!
Since 2003 Air Mobility Command has been chartering An-124 aircraft from Volga-Dnepr.
These aircraft have been flying into Iraq for the last four years, although
when the security situation is bad flights are temporarily halted. One significant
flight into Iraq occurred on February 17 2006 when an An-124 delivered four
Polish-built Mil Mi-17 helicopters for the Iraqi Air Force. In addition to
Volga-Dnepr, Polet's An-124s also fly into Iraq on occasion.
Of the more than 50 An-124s that have been built over the last 25 years, four
have been involved in major crashes, resulting in 50 deaths. All crashes occurred
before 2000 when former-Soviet bloc aviation was in a bad state and since
2000 An-124s have logged thousands of flight hours without incident. The first
Ruslan crash occurred on October 13 1992 when an Antonov Design Bureau aircraft
came down near Kiev, Ukraine, during flight testing. There were eight fatalities.
On November 15 1993 an Aviastar Airlines Ruslan crashed into a mountain at
Kerman in Iran while in a holding pattern. 17 people died in the tragedy.
Two people died when an An-124 owned by Aeroflot (but operated by Ajax) crashed
at Turin, Italy, during a go-around on October 8 1996. The fourth and final
Ruslan crash took place on December 5 1997 when a Russian Air Force aircraft
crashed after takeoff in Irkutsk, Russia, resulting in 23 fatalities.
A number of minor An-124 variants have been developed or proposed. For example
the An-124-102 with EFIS flight deck and just three crewmembers (two pilots
and a flight engineer). Another relatively minor variant is the proposed An-124FFR
water-bomber, which would be able to drop an astounding 441 000 pounds (200
tonnes) of fire retardants. It would have a dual role and could be converted
to carry freight.
An-124-100M
Other modifications include a switch to Western avionics, such as Litton INS,
Rockwell Collins GPS and weather radar and Honeywell ground proximity warning
system. Eliminating the radio operator and navigator reduces the number of
crew to four. In addition, the D-18T engines have been improved and now have
a 24 000 hour life with a 6 000 hour time between overhauls. They also meet
international noise and nitrous-oxide emissions regulations. Future variants
(D-18T series IV) will have Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC)
and produce even more thrust (around 56 880 lb or 25 800 kg) without increasing
fuel consumption.
In addition to the engines, the life of the An-124-100M's airframe is increased
to 60 000 hours, with 80 000 flight hours planned for the future.
The prototype of the An-124-100M was completed in late 1995, but the aircraft
was only flown in June 2000. Test flights were conducted between 2005 and
2006 with the new equipment being checked during thousands of hours in the
air. Finally, after further testing, the An-124-100M received its Type Certificate
on June 19 2007.
In September 2004, the governments of Russia and Ukraine announced that the
An-124 would be put back in series production. An important step on the road
to achieving this was the formation of a new joint venture company, called
GLA Cargo Aircraft, on December 15 2006. The company is a collaboration between
Volga-Dnepr and the Ukrainian company Motor Sich OJSC. Aviastar, Antonov Design
Bureau and the Progress Design Bureau will also become shareholders in the
company. Motor Sich and Progress are responsible for D-18T engine production
on the An-124-100M.
On August 21 2007 a significant milestone was reached when Antonov, Volga-Dnepr
and Motor Sich signed an agreement on the resumption of An-124 production,
at the MAKS-2007 International Airshow. 17 new An-124-100Ms are on order,
with 12 being for Volga-Dnepr. The agreement also plans for the modernisation
of existing An-124-100s to An-124-100M standard. In addition, Antonov announced
it would join GLA cargo aircraft, in line with the original plans.
Although no production timetable was given at MAKS-2007, in May 2008 it was
stated that the production line will open up sometime after 2010. The An-124-100Ms
will be constructed at the Aviastar-SP plant in Russia and Aviant State Aircraft
Plant in Ukraine. In fact, Aviastar is already working on completing two unfinished
An-124s to An-124-100M standard and will build around two or three new An-124-100Ms
a year.
Launching a satellite from an aircraft has a number of benefits. It is much
cheaper and more efficient than vertical ground launching and it allows a
heavier payload to be carried, since less rocket propellant is required. Launching
does not depend on weather conditions because the launch aircraft can fly
above the weather and the launch site can be anywhere - it is easy to fly
to remote areas where launching can take place. And instead of a cosmodrome
all that's needed is a runway.
Behind the satellite launching venture is the Russian/Ukrainian joint venture
company Air Launch Aerospace Corporation. It was established in May 1999 by
Polet Cargo Airlines and the Khimavtomatiki Design Bureau. Initial operational
capability of the An-124-100VS was expected by early 2003, but Air Launch
has seen a number of delays, including launches being postponed until early
2005. However, although 2005 has come and gone and no launches have taken
place, Air Launch is intending to begin launching rockets in 2010.
In December 2006 Air Launch began finalising a launching site for the An-124-100VS
in Indonesia and in early December the presidents of Russia and Indonesia
met in Moscow to discuss the Air Launch project and agreed on further co-operation.
Nearly a year later Russian president Vladimir Putin made his first visit
to Indonesia where he reached an agreement with the country on space technology
co-operation on September 6 2007. The launch site was finalised as being Frans
Kaisiepo Airport on the island of Biak. A special airport will be constructed
and is to include rocket and satellite facilities, a satellite maintenance
unit, mission control unit and other supporting facilities. Biak was chosen
because the island is right on the equator and is thus an ideal place to launch
satellites.
Frans Kaisiepo Airport can easily accept the An-124 since it's 11 700 foot
(3 570 m) runway is 1 640 feet (500 m) longer than the An-124 requires. A
typical launch pattern would be for the An-124-100VS to take off from Biak
airport and fly to a point on the equator north of the island. Once at around
36 000 feet (11 000 m) the aircraft would release the Polyot rocket through
the rear doors and 2.7 seconds later a parachute would open to align the rocket
for its flight into space. The first launch is scheduled to take place some
time in 2010.
The future of the An-124 looks
bright, especially now that the An-124-100M is entering production. More and
more An-124s will be available to the outsize cargo market, which is growing
at around nine per cent every year and is forecast to grow in value from $0.77
billion per year now to more than $3 billion by 2020. The Ruslan should not
only appeal to the outsize cargo market, given its unrivalled payload capacity
and very low price tag of around $40 million (although the An-124-100M could
cost between $120-200 million). Although the Ruslan has been around for more
than a quarter of a century, it is only now reaching its full potential and,
since no other aircraft can replace it, is guaranteed a long and prosperous
future.
