• The An-124 is the largest production plane in the world, and the second largest overall in the world.

   The An-124 held the record for the largest plane in the world before the arrival of the An-225, which currently holds the record for the largest plane in the world. The C-5, holding the 3rd largest aircraft record held the 2nd largest before the An-225 Cossack came. The An-124 was developed primarily as a strategic military freighter to replace the An-22 (turboprop) but also as use for the Soviet Airlines. The first prototype An-124 made its maiden flight on December 26, 1982. The second prototype An-124, named Ruslan after Pushkin's mythical giant, made its first western appearance at the Paris Air show in mid 1985. Besides the low-set tail, the An-124's configuration is similar to the USAF C-5 Galaxy. An-124 models include the basic An-124; the commercial An-124-100 certificated in Russia in 1992, the An-124-100M with western avionics, and the EFIS An-124-102.