While Russia was delivering helicopters into Chad, an An-124-100 Ruslan of Antonov Design Bureau was operating the same day into Durham Tees Valley Airport (DTVA) near Darlington in the UK.
Antonov Airlines An-124-100 at Durham Tees Airport
Civil, commercial airplane or not the An124-100 was carrying a load of three Army Lynx helicopters arriving from Athens, Greece, with its cargo believed to be destined for a nearby airbase.
The various military activities in Iraq and Afghanistan have provided a steady stream of work for the An-124 aircraft of all the commercial charter operators for more than a decade now either in support of the military or for humanitarian work arising as a consequence both of military activities and natural disasters.
A spokesman for DTVA said: "Some people were surprised to see it – its one of the biggest in the world. "But this is a great example of what Durham Tees Valley can handle. Although we are a small regional airport, this demonstrates perfectly the airports capabilities."
The An-124 Ruslan aircraft left the airport the same afternoon demonstrating the flexibility of use of these ramp loading aircraft.
RIA Novosti reported a Russian Air Force spokesman on Monday 8 December that an An-124 Condor aeroplane has delivered four helicopters together with personnel to the struggling country of Chad. The detachment is to take part in an EU-led mission to support UN peacekeeping efforts in the country,
RIA Novosti version of An-124 Condor?
Interestingly, the accompanying photo was of a Volga-Dnepr An124-100 Ruslan commercial airplane. So it's a little difficult to know if it's simply a matter of RIA Novosti using a stock photo or of the Russian military treating the commercial airplane as their own.
The deployment follows an agreement between Russia and the EU signed on November 5 on the deployment of a 200-strong peacekeeping contingent with four Mi-8MT helicopters in the Central African region for up to a year.
"The An-124 plane delivered four Mi-8MT helicopters and over 30 personnel including helicopter crews and technicians, who will soon begin assembling the aircraft," Col. Vladimir Drik said.
The An-124 made a non-stop, eight-hour, flight from a military airfield in central Russia to Ndjamena, capital of Chad, carrying the helicopters and a total of over 40 tons of cargo. If the airplane were indeed a military An-124 Condor then it would have been one of only 2 or 3 that are believed to be operational and a rare excursion outside Russia.
This consignment was only part of the detachment with Russia having already delivered over 200 tons of cargo, more than 80 personnel, five vehicles, and these four Mi-8MT helicopters as part of a Russian peacekeeping contingent.
Russia already has a helicopter support group deployed in neighbouring Sudan. This unit provides transport and rescue services for UN military observers in Sudan and comprises 120 personnel and another four Mi-8 helicopters.
Maximus Air Cargo reports that it has commissioned to fly humanitarian aid within Sudan.
No doubt benefiting from it's government links the Abu Dhabi based airline over the next six months will carry about 4,500 tons of relief supplies from Khartoum to all areas of Sudan including food, shelters, medicines and other relief supplies.
Supplies will be airlifted from Khartoum to Geneina, Nyala, Malakal, Juba, Al Fasher, and Al Obeid.
The airlift project is being paid for by the UAE government as a gift to Sudan's Humanitarian Aid Commission.
Maximus will dedicate one Lockheed Hercules L382G aircraft to the operation, along with 12 crew and support staff who will be based in Khartoum for the duration of the project.
The Hercules will carry about 15 tons per flight, beginning with about 10 deliveries a month and rising to two a day as the mission gathers momentum. Flights begin in mid-November and may be extended beyond the initial six-month schedule.
The Sudanese Civil Aviation Authorities have waived all charges for navigation, landing, and parking at all locations in order to facilitate effective operations
A 95% stake in An-124 operator, Maximus Air Cargo, has been acquired by publicly quoted Abu Dhabi Aviation.
Although Maximus will retain its brand and independence it seems clear that it will gain access to many resources of Abu Dhabi Aviation which was established in 1976 and went public in 1982. Abu Dhabi Aviation is the largest commercial helicopter operator in the Middle East as well as operating a small number of fixed wing aircraft so the combination of resources with the Maximus fixed wing freighter fleet should provide considerable advantages in covering the spectrum of requirements.
The synergies between the two seem evident with the UAE government retaining a 30% government stake in Abu Dhabi Aviation.
The Volga-Dnepr Group of companies has announced a 75 per cent increase in sales for the first nine months of 2008 including a 56% increase by its An-124 fleet.
Total revenue from its charter and scheduled cargo transportation services reached US$1,265 million with total cargo tonnage up by 51 per cent to 210,000 tons.
Volga-Dnepr’s IL-76’s fleet carried over 60,000 tons, 71 per cent more than in the previous year.
Charter service sales increased by 80 per cent to $882.9 million. While scheduled cargo services by the AirBridgeCargo Airlines arm of the group reached $344.1 million, an increase of 68 per cent over the same period last year.
Superjet 100 Delivery By An124-100
A Volga Dnepr An124-100 was used by Sukhoi yesterday to carry the sixth Sukhoi Superjet 100 airframe (MSN 95006) to Novosibirsk where it will undergo fatigue testing.
The test airframe was flown on board an Antonov An-124 freighter on 3 November from the Sukhoi assembly plant at Komsomolsk-on-Amur to the Siberian Aeronautical Research Institute in Novosibirsk.
The Superjet 100 fuselage will be mated with its wings and tail before the test programme begins which Sukhoi says will confirm the aircraft's specified operating life of 70,000 flight hours as well as confirming the schedule intervals for the aircraft's maintenance programme.
