Antonov An - 990
All versions are capable of taking off from and landing on water at maximum weight. X-Plane.Org Forum download links or information on real-world Antonov cargo giants like the An-124 Ruslan
Capable of launching other planes, such as a Boeing 747, in-flight. BURAN-Launcher: Designed to launch the Buran space shuttle. Fire/Water Bomber:
: The actual "King of the Skies" until its tragic destruction in 2022. It had a maximum takeoff weight of about 640 tons.
Because a traditional aluminum or titanium airframe would collapse under its own weight at this scale, the mod's fictional lore states that the aircraft is constructed entirely out of . This futuristic material allows the plane to maintain structural integrity despite its impossible dimensions. Fictional Technical Specifications
Depending on the specific variant of the mod installed, some versions feature a fictional "vertical takeoff" capability powered by automated, hyper-thrust engines. Watching a 6,000-tonne vehicle rise vertically into the air is a highly popular cinematic scenario featured in countless YouTube flight simulation videos . Why the An-990 Can Never Be Real antonov an 990
Have you seen the stunning videos circulating of the "Antonov An-990" taking off in Microsoft Flight Simulator? The graphics are breathtaking, showing a colossal aircraft dominating the runway. But for aviation enthusiasts, this raises a burning question: Does the Antonov An-990 actually exist?
The specifications of the X-Plane 11 An-990 are a fascinating exercise in extreme scaling. They are designed to be awe-inspiring but totally impossible in real-world engineering.
The flight deck sits so high off the ground that pilots frequently misjudge their altitude and land short of the runway.
: No airport on Earth features a runway wide or thick enough to support the landing gear of a 6,000-tonne aircraft without the concrete immediately cracking and collapsing. All versions are capable of taking off from
The Antonov An-990 represents a unique sub-genre of flight simulation content: the challenge.
transport planes, which have played a crucial role in delivering massive cargo worldwide. The Future of Cargo Giants
: It is powered by six custom GE-990-480 turbofan engines, each producing roughly 480,000 lbf of thrust. Water Operations
The An-990 is the final and most extreme iteration of a series of fictional "super-heavy" aircraft. It traces its lineage directly back to its immediate predecessor, the An-725, a 4,000-tonne "Monster" designed to fight wildfires, which in turn evolved from an An-700 "Beast". Inspired by the real-world Stratolaunch Roc, YouTuber Swiss001 also popularized the concept with a detailed video review, helping the aircraft gain a following far beyond the usual flight simulation circles. The An-990 took the core concept of the An-700 and An-725—creating a colossal water bomber—and pushed it to its logical, albeit wildly impractical, extreme. Fire/Water Bomber: : The actual "King of the
The model is configured to hold massive amounts of water or fire retardant. It is designed to dwarf real-world firefighting aircraft like the Boeing 747 Supertanker by dropping hundreds of thousands of gallons of liquid in a single pass to halt massive forest fires instantly.
The digital physics and scale of the Antonov An-990 dwarf any aircraft that has ever actually flown in the real world. To comprehend just how large this simulation aircraft is, it helps to look at the raw numbers provided on its X-Plane.org download page:
The (often referred to as the "Juggernaut") is not a real-world aircraft produced by the Ukrainian manufacturer Antonov . Instead, it is a fictional, fan-made creation popularized within the flight simulation community, specifically for Microsoft Flight Simulator and X-Plane .
: The plane is significantly larger than standard 600-meter to 3,000-meter airport runways. Taxiing on standard airport taxiways is physically impossible without clipping terminal buildings and scenery elements.
Features "water-scooping" capabilities to refill its tanks while skimming across lakes or oceans. Theoretical Specifications