
Antonov An-225
As the Soviets needed an airplane to carry the space shuttle Buran Antonov created an enlarged version of the An-124, the An-225 Mriya (NATO code name Cossack). This is still the world record holder in the maximum take-off weight, even though in size (wing span) it has been surpassed by the twin fuselage Stratolaunch. Basically, the An-225 is a 15 metres longer and wider An-124 with six jet engines and an H-tail. The latter was needed to cope with the wake turbulence of external loads carried on top of the fuselage, like the Buran. The fuselage cross section was not changed, nor has the two leg, double wheel nose gear. Instead of ten main landing gears, the An-225 has fourteen of them, all with double wheels. Unlike the An-124, the 225 has no rear cargo door nor loading ramp. All cargo goes through the nose. (photo: Alex Beltyukov - RuSpotters Team/WikiMedia, modified)
A full view of the An-225 showing its double nose gear and fourteen leg main gear. (photo: Gleb Osokin - Russian AviaPhoto Team/WkiMedia)
This is what we An-225 was designed for in the first place, carrying the Russian space orbiter Buran.
The large H-tail of the An-225 has a swept horizontal stabiliser and vertical fins swept backward in two parts. (photo: Kārlis Dambrāns/WikiMedia)
Confusion possible with
Antonov An-124
The An-225 is basically an enlarged version of the An-124, with six engines, fourteen main landing gear legs and an H-tail. The An‑124 has only four engines, a single vertical stabiliser and fewer gear legs. All those features make the An-124 easy to recognise from its larger brother. (photo: Alex Polezhaev/WikiMedia)
Lockheed C-5 Galaxy
The C-5 is similar in size as the An-124 and also has an egg-shaped fuselage cross section, four engines and a cargo door in the nose. However, there is one big difference, namely the location of the horizontal stabiliser: the Galaxy has a T-tail. Also, the C‑5 has four six wheel main landing gears and a single four wheel nose gear.