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RIP the "dream" plane
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tom66:
I don't think that airframe is ever going to be rebuilt.  The damage is too extreme.  It also looks as if the cockpit and the left hand wing are totally destroyed, as well as most of the rear section. All that survives is right wing, some fuselage, and maybe three engines are salvageable.  Do they even make AN-225 engine any more? (Progress D-18T)  Avionics, hydraulics, and unreplaceable airframe parts will all also be destroyed. Will full plans even exist to rebuild it, or are they all paper records, which itself could take a decade to re-assemble and compile into modern CAD? 

I would love to see it rebuilt - but I am sure if that does happen it would be by taking the 70% complete airframe and salvaging what they can from the wreckage. 
langwadt:

--- Quote from: tom66 on April 04, 2022, 10:51:58 am ---I don't think that airframe is ever going to be rebuilt.  The damage is too extreme.  It also looks as if the cockpit and the left hand wing are totally destroyed, as well as most of the rear section. All that survives is right wing, some fuselage, and maybe three engines are salvageable.  Do they even make AN-225 engine any more? (Progress D-18T)  Avionics, hydraulics, and unreplaceable airframe parts will all also be destroyed. Will full plans even exist to rebuild it, or are they all paper records, which itself could take a decade to re-assemble and compile into modern CAD? 

I would love to see it rebuilt - but I am sure if that does happen it would be by taking the 70% complete airframe and salvaging what they can from the wreckage.

--- End quote ---

afaik it the same engine as on the AN-124, more than 50 was build and about half is in service
Nusa:
The engine is still made, since it's the same engine used in the AN-124. Even without it's big brother, the AN-124 is still one of the most capable heavy-lift aircraft in the world. Of course, parts come from Russia, so the operational lifetime of those outside Russia will likely be affected by the current situation. If memory serves, Ukraine had most of those.

I agree that the current airframe is beyond recovery. The only chance is if the surviving parts (the whole tail assembly looks intact to me) are inspected, certified, and combined with the partly-finished 2nd AN-225 airframe that's been in storage for ages.
SiliconWizard:

--- Quote from: coppercone2 on April 04, 2022, 02:10:47 am ---
--- Quote from: SiliconWizard on April 03, 2022, 07:04:59 pm ---
--- End quote ---

It's getting a little crazy to discount it, its not like its some war machine, its just another human achievement. That is taking politics too far. Its from 40 years ago.

--- End quote ---

Nobody is "discounting" it. My point was just that it probably made no sense to rebuild it, however sad it is, and that precisely the only reason (that I even get from your own posts) would be historical, not really practical. Then it's natural to mention history if history is the reason to even bother rebuilding it.

Of course it's human achievement. Many other artefacts of great human achievement were destroyed and never built back. You are again using an historical standpoint and yourself dismissing why history alone would probably not be a good reason for bothering rebuilding this. It was indeed an impressive, yet 40-year old plane, actually flying a few times a year. Money would be better invested elsewhere was also my point.
nctnico:

--- Quote from: SiliconWizard on April 04, 2022, 06:21:08 pm ---Of course it's human achievement. Many other artefacts of great human achievement were destroyed and never built back. You are again using an historical standpoint and yourself dismissing why history alone would probably not be a good reason for bothering rebuilding this. It was indeed an impressive, yet 40-year old plane, actually flying a few times a year. Money would be better invested elsewhere was also my point.

--- End quote ---
That depends on whether it is worthwhile to design a new heavy duty cargo plane from scratch or just rebuild a new one from parts and a design that are readily available. It is not like it is flying on a daily basis so fuel consumption and wear are not things that are high on the priority list to improve.
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