Operating the Antonov 124 – Rising to Logistic Challenges

Thursday 10th November 2016

Light Refreshments served from 7.00 pm
Lecture Starts at 7.30 pm

Speaker: Vlad Vyshemirsky, Cargo Logic Air.

Location: Lecture Theatre ‘2’, Cambridge University Engineering Department, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1PZ.

Lecture Synopsis

Operating a fleet of Antonov 124 and the many abnormal loads which come with that is incredibly challenging. Vlad Vyshemirsky will present a history of this amazing aircraft intertwined with stories of his experiences as loads master for Volga Dnepr. A must not miss lecture with a real unique opportunity to hear from someone with so much experience and knowledge of the aircraft.

The air cargo industry has come a long way since Philip Orin Parmelee piloted the first ever cargo flight across a distance of 65 miles between Dayton and Columbus, Ohio, on 7 November 1910. Onboard was a cargo of 200 pounds of silk for the opening of a new store.

Today, airlines deliver more than 51 million tonnes of goods a year, representing more than 35% of global trade by value but less than 1% of world trade by volume. This is the equivalent to $6.8 trillion worth of goods annually or $18.6 billion worth of goods every day carried in the bellyholds of passenger aircraft or onboard conventional freighters.

For many years, however, manufacturers and distributors of big, outsize and heavyweight products were unable to benefit from the speed, reliability and security offered by air cargo because their goods simply did not comply with conventional aircraft design. Their only option remained long road journeys or slow and often unpredictable sea crossings. This all changed in 1990 with the arrival of the Antonov An-124-100 in the commercial transport market, a move that has since reduced end-to-end delivery times for big, complex cargoes from weeks to a matter of hours.

Volga-Dnepr Group operates the world’s largest fleet of An-124 freighters, the former Soviet military transport aircraft equipped with front and back loading ramps, onboard cranes and winches that make it virtually self sustaining. It also has the ability to ‘kneel down’ to simplify the loading of long, large and heavyweight cargoes for industries such as aerospace, oil&gas, power & energy and heavy construction.

This presentation will look at the unique operating capabilities of the An-124-100 in comparison to other large transport aircraft, focusing on its original design and methods of loading and unloading. It will highlight the types of cargoes that rely on the aircraft to meet urgent or timely delivery deadlines around the world and focus on projects in the aerospace and oil&gas sectors as well as its vital role supporting global humanitarian missions.