A backstory...

I was in a hurry to post the curent state of what my plane has become, but now i should give you some backlog. I fell in love with this plane when I started to hear about it being "the world's largest plane", and "the only one of it's kind". And this is true- there is only one like it in existence, and the other frame that was destined to be another Antonov-an-225 looks like... well, this:

This particular photo is of the second AN-225 Airframe at Gostomel Airport in Kiev. This plane was supposed to sport the large cargo door in the rear of the aircraft as well as the lifting nose and dropping nosegear assembly for front-or-back cargo loading. unfortunately, the Antonov Design bureau has not had a need for such an incredible aircraft since the fall of the Soviet Space Program, so only one is still in existence.

The AN-225 is a beast. According to the website ( http://www.antonov.com/products/air/transport/AN-225/index.xml ) the maximum payload is a whopping 250 Tons. sporting 32 wheels, 6 engines, and a dizzying height of 18 meters, (over 59 feet) and a wingspan of 88.4 Meters (290 feet) she dwarfs pretty much anything near her. Nicknamed Mryia (dream), she performs quite well hauling anything that would not normally fit into her sisterships, the an-124 Rusian to practically anywhere in the world. When she first popped out of that hangar barely big enough to contain her, she was ready to haul the Buran shuttle on her back, anywhere that had at least a 10,000 Ft. runway.

I Instantly fell in love. It is a beast, yet she flies gracefully through the air like a giant hawk. Never crashed, and a real display of what humans really are capable of if they put their minds to it, I was impressed. A 1.5 Million pound maximum takeoff weight (after her floor was rebuilt to accomodate it) and enough room for not 2, not 3, but 5 battle ready tanks, crew, and supplies!!!! (http://www.historyofaircargo.com/i--Antonov-An-225-with-five-main-battle-ta.html)

I set out on a mission. I wanted to make a model of her. I got all the research I could, measurements, and scale drawings, and went to town. This image helped alot:

(thank you to whoever slaved in making it, I was able to get everything i needed from it)

I started by cutting out the skeleton from 1/4" foam core posterboard.

Then filled in each area carefully with 1/2" or 2" foam, shaving down for shape and adding reinforcements when necessary.

After shaving each chunk of foam down with a body planer, I used 320 grit sandpaper to smooth her out. eventually i ended up with a wing too:

After going through about 1 1/3 sheets of extruded foam insulation I ended up with a bulked-out skeleton, forming an abruptly-shaped version of the graceful AN-225.

About 2 months of daily work went down, and eventually life happened. So I had to hang her up for almost a year. There she sat, motionless but intimidating, beckoning every time i passed her to let me work some more on her. She had blocky wings, a crude fuselage, and a layer of dust to show how i had put her away like a christmas ornament, only this time not knowing when I would extracate her.

About a month ago i was working on HHO theory, including a crudely made generator and an almost-would-be pulse width modulator, and I looked up. There she hung from the cieling, dirty, lonely, but still possessing that magic I saw when I last put her there one year prior. I decided to bring her down, and finish what I started, making sure my efforts did not go to waste.

So here she is" the Antonov AN-225 Mryia, almost there, taking shape, and certainly large enough for my garage. I cannot work on her on a bench. It is just too large of an aircraft. Even at her tiny scale, a 98" wingspan is just far too great for my office. So now you have the full story. I will update you as much as I can between baby feedings, work schedules, and eventually spending time with the family, but just know this: She Will Fly.