Will I Ever See These?

[ben170292]

just wondering if the An-225 or any An-124 ever fly into Tullamarine airport?

 

 

[Guest DWB]

Can't answer your question but I always enjoy watching this Russian II-76 taking off at Canberra

 

 

 

[Guest Darren Masters]

Not sure but if you visit Moscow, plenty...

 

 

[Guest Darren Masters]

Oh and that 'Vodka Burner' movie is a classic!

 

 

[willedoo]

Can't answer your question but I always enjoy watching this Russian II-76 taking off at Canberra

It's a good one, pity it's such a low resolution. Have been trying to identify it by the tailplane logo for quite some time, but no luck so far.The Il-76 crews change registration like we change our socks, so it might have had another paint job the following week. The guys in the tower seem quite amazed at the full use of the runway, but that's fairly common for an IL-76, they often use more than the runway. You can bet they've calculated to the last metre & kilogram. Most of the crews are ex Soviet & Russian Air Force, some with 35 years in the same type of aircraft & with plenty of experience in Afganistan & other areas of conflict. They were probably just glad no-one at Canberra was shooting at them as they took off. Il-76 pilots are some of the world's best. But back to the original post, does anyone know if the An-225 has ever been to Australia.

Cheers, Willie.

 

 

[Spin]

Far as I know the answer for the An-225 is no - there was some excitement about a year ago (?) when it was announced that the 225 would be bringing one of the potential new military choppers to Brisbane for trials and it was claimed to be the first visit. As it turned out the journos had gotten it wrong and it was in fact a 124 that arrived - fortunately for me as I had an unbreakable appointment elsewhere.

 

Re the video, whilst I can well imagine that the ex Soviet military crews are very experienced, I do wonder how concepts like balanced field length fit into their operations? I had a little to do with some of their crews in Angola and other similar holes, and whilst they were mostly pretty handy at the controls, the word "cowboy" was also often mentioned.

 

 

[willedoo]

Far as I know the answer for the An-225 is no - there was some excitement about a year ago (?) when it was announced that the 225 would be bringing one of the potential new military choppers to Brisbane for trials and it was claimed to be the first visit. As it turned out the journos had gotten it wrong and it was in fact a 124 that arrived - fortunately for me as I had an unbreakable appointment elsewhere.Re the video, whilst I can well imagine that the ex Soviet military crews are very experienced, I do wonder how concepts like balanced field length fit into their operations? I had a little to do with some of their crews in Angola and other similar holes, and whilst they were mostly pretty handy at the controls, the word "cowboy" was also often mentioned.

Thanks, Spin, I remember the mixup about Brisbane, maybe one day we'll see it here. Re the Il-76 crews, that word is certainly used a lot to describe them. Crazy is another description often used, there's been a lot of risk takers among them. Small outfits trading off maintenance for profits has been a long term cause of problems, as well as age & general airframe fatigue & other things like that clear liquid. They go through a lot of duct tape keeping some of them running, but I gather there's a few less independants around than there was just a few years ago. I guess in your time in Angola, you might have also run into a few An-12 & An-26 & 32 crews as well.

Cheers, Willie.

 

 

[Pete777]

Yes for the AN - 124, coming into Tulla. I've seen 4 different ones come in, normally from the Volga-Dnepr company (1 from Antonov Design Bureau with a Ukraine rego). It's not a regular thing, I'll PM you next time.

 

- Pete

 

 

[red750]

Here's a couple of photos of exciting departures by Soviet block pilots...

 

http://www.airliners.net/photo/Atlant-Soyuz-Airlines/Ilyushin-Il-86/0996987/&sid=ff7f20b4c8168e8c91c8d5d5f56e6e49

 

http://www.airliners.net/photo/Vaso-Airlines/Ilyushin-Il-86/0995911/M/

 

Peter.

 

 

[TAA Student Pilot]

I had to go to Brisbane Eagle farm a few years ago, there was an AN12 took off. It took the entire length of the runway that heads to the east to get off. It then just hopped over any high ground and headed out over the water. There was that much crap coming from the engines it looked like the machine had a cargo of burning tyres!!! You could still see the trails from the engines 15 minutes later, bit different to western engines.

 

 

[willedoo]

I had to go to Brisbane Eagle farm a few years ago, there was an AN12 took off. It took the entire length of the runway that heads to the east to get off. It then just hopped over any high ground and headed out over the water. There was that much **** coming from the engines it looked like the machine had a cargo of burning tyres!!! You could still see the trails from the engines 15 minutes later, bit different to western engines.

The old An-12 is a smoky beast, have seen a lot of footage of them & they always churn out a fair bit of black smoke. Seems to be a common trait with Ukranian/Russian cargo types, with their turbofans as well. He must have been pretty heavy, or maybe just lacking a bit of grunt, certainly would be interesting to watch.

Cheers, Willie.