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How Microsoft Flight Simulator is Keeping a Ukrainian Dream Alive

I’m a big fan of airplanes. Large ones, small ones, medium sized… Each one is extraordinary in their own way when you take a step back and consider how incredible it is that these manmade machines can conquer the sky. There have been thousands of unique aircraft designs that have taken flight; the SR-71 “Blackbird” for its otherworldly look, the P-38 “Lightning” with its unique H-shaped design, and the iconic B-17 “Flying Fortress” which lives up to its namesake as a literal fortification in the sky, are some personal favorites. But none have been quite as impressive as the Antonov An-225, affectionately known as “Mriya.”Get more news about Drone Simulator Company,you can vist our website!

Designated as the An-225, since it could carry up to a colossal 225 tons of cargo, the Mriya (which translates to “dream” in Ukrainian) was the largest and heaviest aircraft in the world. Originally created to transport the Buran-class orbiters in the 1980s before being retrofitted to carry oversized payloads, it housed six turbofan engines across its immense wingspan, two large vertical stabilizers, and a 32-wheel landing gear assembly — there was truly nothing like it.
Needless to say, it was upsetting when news broke in early 2022 that the only existing Mriya was destroyed during the Battle of Antonov Airport, at the outset of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

So, when I first heard the news the team behind Microsoft Flight Simulator was moving forward with an ambitious goal of not only recreating the aircraft for everyone to enjoy in their world-class flight simulator, but equally determined to bring the real Mriya back to life, I had to learn more. I managed to catch up with Head of Microsoft Flight Simulator Jorg Neumann, shortly after the announcement of the aircraft’s launch in Microsoft Flight Simulator, to discover more about this amazing project.

“There was an outcry in the flight sim community that day [February 27, 2022] and all of us were really affected by the news,” Jorg recounts upon first hearing of Mriya’s destruction. “In our team meeting, there was an outpouring of sadness and shock. Personally, it struck me deeply as the Mriya had also been a symbol of mankind’s ingenuity… it was in that meeting that I quite emotionally said we need to preserve the memory of this great aircraft in our sim.”
After the meeting, Jorg contacted Chief Pilot for Antonov Airlines Dmytro Antonov via LinkedIn and reached out to their Microsoft office in Ukraine. At that time, no one in Ukraine was able to talk to about digital preservation of the An-225, but one key contact, Alexander Matsko, embraced the idea of bringing Mriya into Microsoft Flight Simulator.

“It was delightful news for us, considering the high professional level of the Microsoft team and their high international reputation,” described Deputy General Director for Ukraine’s Antonov Airlines Viktor Avdieiev, upon hearing the news that Microsoft was trying to bring the An-225 back in a flight simulator. “This aircraft occupied a special place in global aviation history; no such other plane exists… Thanks to this product, many people get to know this powerful bird and will love it as we do.”