Why build the An-990? The answer lies in the Soviet doctrine of "mutual assured mobility." The Soviet Union required the ability to mobilize entire divisions, including main battle tanks and armored personnel carriers, across the vast Eurasian landmass.
In the virtual skies of X-Plane, flying the An-990 is less about standard piloting and more about managing massive inertia.
("Dream") was very real. It was the largest and most powerful cargo plane ever built, with a wingspan of 88 meters and six engines. antonov an 990
It can carry 600,000 gallons (2,270 tonnes) of water or fire retardant. Features in X-Plane
An American startup, Radia, is building the — a cargo aircraft designed to carry 72+ tonnes of wind turbine blades. While smaller than an An-225, its wingspan (80 meters) rivals the Mriya. This is the closest real aircraft to the mythical An-990 in terms of "oversized logistics." Why build the An-990
6,000 tonnes (13.2 million lbs), which is roughly 10 times the weight of the real-world Antonov An-225 Mriya . Wingspan: 870 feet (265.2 meters). Length: 826.8 feet (252 meters).
The following blog post explores the "legend" of this virtual giant and how it compares to the actual titans of the sky. ("Dream") was very real
The An-990 represents the pinnacle of community-driven creativity within the X-Plane ecosystem. It has garnered a dedicated following:
The Antonov An-990 is a concept for a large, long-range, high-capacity transport aircraft that never reached production but occupies an evocative corner of aviation imagination. Below is a compact, vivid portrait to help you picture its scale, purpose, and why it matters to aircraft enthusiasts and transport planners.
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: