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Airport set for arrival of largest aircraft By Melissa Martin A Russian Antonov, the world�s largest production aircraft, is scheduled to land about 3:30 p.m. Sunday at the Medford airport. The AN-124 will pick up a fire-fighting helicopter that will be used in South Korea. The Korean Forest Service has a contract with Erickson Air-Crane in Central Point to use the helicopter for 30 days. They have a contract option to keep it longer. An Erickson spokesman said the plane could arrive as late as 6 p.m., but it will be hard to miss. The four-engine Antonov has a 240-foot wing spread and can cruise through the air at up to 537 mph. It is the world�s second-largest fixed-wing aircraft, dwarfed only by its bigger sister, AN-225 "Mriya," which is no longer in production. Crews will load Erickson�s helicopter onto the Antonov on Sunday or Monday. The big plane is scheduled to depart at 10 p.m. Monday, bound for Kang Reung, a forest service base on the east coast of South Korea, said Dennis Hubbard of Erickson Air-Crane�s media services. Wildfires in South Korea are increasing due to drought conditions and controlled burning of fields and rice paddies to eliminate farm waste, according to Hubbard. Some 186 fires have started since March 16 in areas near the East Sea. Erickson is sending an S-64E Helitanker, a powerful weapon with its water cannon and "Sea Snorkel," which scoops sea water. It will ride in the Antonov "Ruslan," nicknamed after a hero in the popular Aleksandr Pushkin poem "Ruslan and Ludmila," Hubbard said. Ruslan can fly 8,640 nautical miles before refueling, accommodates a crew of 18 and holds up to 88 passengers. The aircraft was designed for maximum loads and is used primarily for military missions. It holds the record for a total payload weight of 273,400 pounds, set in 1993 when it transported a power plant generator. Lockheed�s C-5 Galaxy is a close, but smaller cousin to the Antonov. The Antonov made its first appearance in the United States during the Aerospace America Airshow at Brown Field in San Diego in 1988, six years after it was flown for the first time. It landed at Kingsley Field in Klamath Falls last year to pick up an Erickson helicopter. This year, the Russian giant can land at the Medford airport now that airfield improvements make it possible to handle an aircraft of this size. The Antonov is owned by London-based Antonov Airlines, which operates a fleet for private clients as well as NATO organizations. Reach reporter Melissa Martin at 776-4497, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.