Stunning Video Of The Largest Airplane In The World While It's Taking Off

In November 2016, Gerd Valdeig arrived at Leipzig/Halle Airport in Germany to capture footage of the Antonov An-225 Mriya, also known as the world’s largest plane, taking off. Regardless of the freezing temperatures and the almost-24 hour delay in departure time, massive crowds gathered to witness this fascinating moment.

The Antonov An-225 Mriya is a strategic airlift cargo aircraft which was designed by the Antonov Design Bureau during the 1980s in the Ukrainian SSR within the Soviet Union. It's powered by six turbofan engines, and it's the longest and heaviest plane ever built, with a maximum takeoff weight of 710 tons. It also has the most massive wingspan compared to any aircraft in operational service. The single example built has the Ukrainian civil registration UR-82060. A second airframe with a little different configuration was partially built. Its construction was halted in 1994 due to lack of funding and interest, but it was revived briefly in 2009, bringing it to 60 to 70 percent completion.

The first and only An-225 was completed in 1988. After it successfully fulfilled its Soviet military missions, it was mothballed for eight years. Then, it was refurbished and re-introduced, and it's in commercial operation with Antonov Airlines carrying huge payloads. The airlifter maintains the absolute world records for an airlifted single item payload of 418,830 pounds, and an airlifted total payload of 559,580 lb. It's also transported a payload of 545,000 lb on a commercial flight.

All planes are a prodigy of engineering and ingenuity. Even though humans are not meant to fly, they're excellent at overcoming even the biggest obstacles. Therein, airplanes play a significant role in our world’s history, as they revolutionized travel, transportation, trade, and the military. Planes deliver humans and cargo to each corner of the world. At this point, we take planes filling the skies for granted although modern airplanes are a relatively new invention. Take a look at the aircraft soaring into the air in the video below and remember to like and share the incredible sight!

Reference: Rumble