Antonov's massive six-turbofan heavy-lift An-225 Mriya freighter established a new world air cargo benchmark on June 18, when it flew a 247-tonne payload from Prague to Tashkent, for the Uzbekistan government. With four pipe-loading cranes, weighing 241 tonnes, plus another 6.1 tonnes of loading equipment, its take-off weight was another record-breaking 630 tonnes, claimed as the heaviest achieved in aviation history.
