This is a photo trip report of a flight on the world’s largest turboprop, the Antonov An-22. The An-22 is not only the biggest turboprop aircraft in the world but it was the first wide-body aircraft in the world!
Join me on a ferry flight from Leipzig to Bremen on the An-22.
Video – Highly Recommended
Ferry Flight to Bremen with 20 Crew
Our journey started at 08:00 in Leipzig, Germany. A total of 20 strong crew from the Antonov team arrived by bus to operate the Antonov An-22, including 6 cockpit crew.
The An-22 was the first wide body transport aircraft and remains the world’s largest turboprop-powered aircraft to date. The An-22 is powered by four Kuznetsov NK-12 engines, each driving a pair of contra-rotating propellers which have a unique sound. Watch the video for the unique scene of the engine starting up.
Kuznetsov NK-12 engines 
contra-rotating propellers
contra-rotating propellers 
The team moved very quickly to prepare for the ferry flight to Bremen. A special shipment was waiting in Bremen, a luxury bus for the Antonov An-22 to transport to Baku.
The Antonov An-22 has its own specially made tow bar, once the plane pushes back the technicians put the tow bar inside and close the door to depart.
The fuselage of the An-22 is approximately 4m high and 4m wide. The plane also carries its own staircase, for technicians to be able to reach the engine during a stop.
The advantage of operating the AN-22 is that you have all the tools and equipment inside the plane, there are no additional requirements. This is very handy at a remote airfield, where there may likely be a lack of equipment.
2 pilots in the front fly of the Antonov AN-22 cockpit. A flight engineer works on the engine throttle, which is in between the 2 pilots.
A radio controller sits behind the captain.
An additional flight engineer sits on the opposite side to the radio controller.
In addition there is a navigator who sits below the cockpit, near the glass nose.
The An-22 cruised at 20,000 ft. Flight time from Leipzig to Bremen took just 45 minutes and it was a nice sunny day for our flight across Germany.
AN-22 First Time to Bremen
We arrived Bremen in sunny weather, see our landing in the video. It was the first time the An-22 had ever landed in Bremen, a lot of local aviation enthusiasts and spotters came out to watch her land.
During our 3 hour stop in Bremen, I took more photos and explored more of the Antonov AN-22.
Captain Mosin informed me that the AN-22 is already 46 years old, with just 80-100 hours left before the decision has to be made as to whether it is retired or its flying life is prolonged. The Antonov team also flies on all the other Antonovs, including An-70, An-124 and An-225 aircraft.
I presented the crew with my new Air747 book and a painting of AN-22 by a young fan, Noah from Dubai.
Loading a Luxury Bus on to AN-22
After a short wait, the luxury bus arrived at Bremen Airport. Without much difficulty, the bus drove straight inside the An-22 fuselage. It was quite a sight! Watch the loading scenes on video.
Guinness World Record Holder
The An-22 holds a Guinness World record, with its max takeoff weight of 250 tons (551,156 lb). It is also the only wide-body freighter capable of operations at airports with unpaved runways or at a remote airstrip.
Once we had picked up the special bus shipment in Bremen the An-22 flew back to Leipzig, which would serve as a tech stop before the onward trip to Baku. This is due to the short runway in Bremen, which is only 2km long. In addition, the An-22 received a water cannon salute from Bremen Airport.
According to the pilots, the AN-22 consumes around 6 tons fuel per hour; this is lot less than that of other jet engine cargo planes, which makes the AN-22 operation viable and economical. I hope she remains in the air for many more years to come!
Highlight of 2020
It was probably my highlight in aviation this year. The excitement, the sounds of the 4 turboprop engines and the airmanship on the Antonov are exactly the reasons why I love aviation. It is an adventure! I hope you will share my passion and watch the video below.
For more information on the Antonov An-22, please visit here.
Great trip-report Sam !
Something completely different from our last year’s exotic trip with ANA’s A380 the ‘Flying Honu’.
I would have loved to join you with this An. 22. What a great airplane and great crew.
Best regards,
Robert Erenstein
From the photos I see of the IL-86, I don’t think so. You entered up just a few steps from ground level and then walked up interior stairs on the plane to get to the passenger cabin. I remember asking one of the flight crew about the plane and he explained that this version was also used for troop transport because it could land on rough airfields and required little ground support. Maybe it wasn’t 124 but it was something with the wings above the fuselage and low to the ground.
Were any of he 124s used for passengers and then converted to cargo?
That’s exactly IL-86. You enter from lower deck and walk up to the passenger cabin. The An-124 does not have a passenger cabin on the main deck, it has a special crew rest cabin accessible by a very tall fold down staircase.
Interesting read – and a turboprop!
I had the opportunity to fly on an AN-124 (I think), Aeroflot’s jumbo jet in 1990 from Kiev to Leningrad (the city name at the time). You entered up a few steps from the ground and then went up interior stairs to the passenger cabin.
My dad and I visited the ex-Soviet Union for 3 weeks — on a British Intourist tour. Not sure exactly what we flew on, but it was all Russian made. MAN-SVO, SVO (might have been DME or VKO)-KIV, KIV-LWO, LWO-KBP, KBP-LED, LED-MAN.
Lots of different Aeroflot planes, some in pretty rundown states.
I think you flew an IL-86 from your description, not An-124 (which is a cargo transporter).
Wonderful editing! This dead reckoning downstairs dome! This green cockpit! Nice crew as always is the case with eastern airmen. Thanks a lot for the post, Sam.
Its my Birthday! its nice to have a review on my birthday