KYIV, Sept 7 – The Antonov Scientific and Technical Aviation Complex and the Motor Sich Company are jointly rebuilding the Mria An-255 airplane, said Constantine Lukashov, the acting director of Antonov Airlines, Ukrainian News reported on Thursday.
The Mria was created in 1998 for the air-launch of the Buran space shuttle.
According to Lukashov, in the future the airplane will be used for commercial freight transportation.
“We are currently restoring it. In the middle of next year we will begin exploitation,” said Lukashov.
Lukashov emphasized that the restored An-255 will be in demand on the air freight transportation market since it has a large freight capacity – 250 tons.
Lukashov said the restoration of the plane will extend to the end of the year, and in February-April of next year, the Mria should pass certification.
Antonov Airlines plans to begin exploiting the plane in May 2001.
The Motor-Sich Company is supplying the engines for the Mria.
The cost of reconstructing the An-255 is $20 million.
The An-255 has a flight range of 6 thousand kilometers with a 250 ton load.
Its cruising speed is 850 kilometers/hour and it needs a runway of 3 thousand meters for landings.
Only one An-255 was assembled at Antonov. Two hundred million dollars is needed to complete construction of the second An-255.
According to Lukashov, Antonov Airlines is the second largest (after Russia’s Volga-Dnepr Company) airfreight transporter, and controls 40% of the market.
In 1999, Antonov Airlines transported 30 thousand tons of freight; its turnover was $80 million.
