With a 117 tonne generator on board, the Antonov-225 Mriya (AN 225) has landed for the first time in Australia.
Thousands of onlookers witnessed, the arrival of the cargo aircraft on Sunday morning in Perth, Western Australia.
“The excitement was great, there were high expectations,” says Ron Koehler, CEO of Schenker Australia Pty Ltd, “to organize the airfreight in an Antonov 225 is an absolute highlight. The cooperation between our experts in Adelaide and Perth with Czech colleagues went smoothly. We are really proud of this order for our clients here in Australia. ”
Karpeles Flight Services, a specialist of DB Logistics subsidiary DB Schenker for the chartering of aircrafts is responsible for the organization of the trip around the world.
The transportation of the generator started on May 10 in the city of Pilsen (Czech Republic), from where it was moved overnight by a special multiple-axle truck to Prague, the airport of the capital city of the Czech Republic.
The generator was loaded into the AN 225 (84 m long, 18 m high). The generator (8,80 meters long, 3,50 meters wide, 3,20 meters wide) is covered with a special canvas and welded at more than 30 fixation points in the Antonov. Departure took place on Thursday 12th May.
Stopovers on the almost 14.000 km long trip were scheduled in Turkmenbashi (Turkmenistan), Hyderabad (India) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). DB Schenker also arranges for the land transport to the Australian client, an alumina refinery in Collie, a four hour drive from Perth.
