Мрія // Valediction to an Icon

At the time of release (05/2022), this is by far the longest video on my channel. And although it is full of magnificent memories for me, it is also the saddest, because its creation is a reaction on the destruction of the only complete example of an Antonov An-225 "Mriya", the largest transport aircraft in the world, during the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. Vladmimir Putin may call it a special military operation as much as he wants and he may forbid Russians to even call it a war, but he's not fooling anyone, it's a war and moreover it's a war of aggression, period!

The reason this video is so long and took me so long to produce is, that I went through all my material showing this outstanding aircraft, so I could use it for this video. And since I live near Leipzig/Halle airport (LEJ/EDDP), where "Mriya" was often to be seen, we're talking about lots of pictures and videos!

The guys at Antonov seem to be absolutely determined to build a new "Mriya" and of course I'd be delighted to be able to welcome this giant at Leipzig/Halle airport again! Nevertheless, I decided to call this video a valediction, because on the one hand I'm not 100% certain, there will be a resurrection and on the other hand, even if so, the new one will be a another aircraft.
0:00:00 introduction
0:00:57 LEJ 2008-04-24
0:01:22 LEJ 2008-04-25
0:02:01 LEJ 2013-05-24 (https://youtu.be/sKDAHp8Zf9w)
0:03:15 LEJ 2013-05-25 (https://youtu.be/Cai4ke5d8dU)
0:06:09 LEJ 2013-07-01 and 02
0:07:03 LEJ 2014-11-21 and 22 (https://youtu.be/ZR0g9UMn418)
0:12:41 LEJ 2015-04-09
0:14:13 LEJ 2015-11-12 (air-to-air! - https://youtu.be/A0-xqH3o-Qs)
0:18:05 LEJ 2015-11-17 (https://youtu.be/KRFKalxC9hA)
0:22:11 LEJ 2016-05-19 and 20 (https://youtu.be/6Yvst8ZRqCk)
0:30:20 LEJ 2016-11-10 and 12 (https://youtu.be/_M5-BtcViCA)
0:35:39 LEJ 2018-04-06, 07 and 11 (https://youtu.be/gH6oKrhGGtQ / https://youtu.be/ZziHLFd3R2I)
0:46:33 ILA Berlin Air Show 2018-04-28
0:49:17 LEJ 2018-04-29 (water salute - https://youtu.be/tBKJuwgJXX8)
0:53:54 LEJ 2018-05-06 and 08 (https://youtu.be/tBKJuwgJXX8 again)
0:58:08 LEJ 2018-05-23
1:02:44 LEJ 2020-04-27 (https://youtu.be/AJldXNuWmxM)
1:05:34 LEJ 2021-12-12 (https://youtu.be/DTjV3Kbq9SE)
1:06:50 LEJ 2021-12-15 (https://youtu.be/0q1TK1D-vIU)
1:11:33 outro
For more "Mriya", have a look at my An-225 playlist (https://tinyurl.com/jxjfm7dj) and/or visit Jetheadz AVC, a project for collaborative aviation videos (https://tinyurl.com/ycchh2z9).
music:
Open the Door of Hope by MusicLFiles
Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/8602-open-the-door-of-hope
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

image of destroyed Ukrainian town:
Attribution:
"Destruction by Russian attack of peasant village of Yakovlivka in Kharkiv"
by Mvs.gov.ua (Міністерство внутрішніх справ України; Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs)
License:
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en

Видео Мрія // Valediction to an Icon канала LEJ.approach