File photo of the Antonov An-124 Ruslan. Aviation enthusiasts crowded Auckland Airport's runway viewing area on Sunday to see one of the world's largest planes take off. Photo: AFP / NurPhoto / Nicolas Economou
Aviation enthusiasts crowded Auckland Airport's runway viewing area on Sunday to see one of the world's largest planes take off.
The Antonov An-124 Ruslan aircraft arrived from American Samoa on Saturday evening.
Travel journalist Dan Lake told Morning Report there were only 55 of the aircraft. They were manufactured in the Ukraine with a maiden flight in December 1982 and just 26 were still in use today.
"So this is a really rare aircraft and it's huge."
The An-124 was the world's second heaviest gross weight production cargo airplane and heaviest operating cargo aircraft, and remained the largest military transport aircraft in service.
It had a travel range of 3700km and a cruising speed of 865kmh.
Lake said the cargo plane was "just a bit smaller than the Airbus A380", a double-decker passenger plane that flew into Auckland.
He said the An-124 could carry a huge amount of cargo, taking off with a maximum weight of 400 tonnes in total.
"The previous time it came to Auckland it carried America's Cup yachts on it."
The plane had also once carried Taylor Swift's entire concert stage, he said.
"It's a massive, massive plane so it's no surprise people are turning up to look at it."
Lake said it was unclear why the plane was in Auckland or what it was carrying this time, but it had recently been in Melbourne.
Not only was the plane distinctively big, but it was slightly different to other aircraft, with its wings "on top" and an engine that looked "quite small".
"So when you see something that kind-of just looks like a giant fat slug going up the runway and then all of a sudden it's flying it still just looks magical - you've gotta see it with your own eyes."
Design of the plane began in the 1970s by the Antonov Design Bureau in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.
Lake said it had 24 wheels and not many windows which made it look "a bit weird" or military-like, compared to other planes.
Production of the aircraft stopped in 2014.
"Planes are actually getting smaller all because of fuel economy."
