picture of the day

Heavy help

47 Comments

One of the world's largest concrete pumps is driven into the belly of a Russian Antonov AN-24 cargo jet at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Friday. The pump is one of two being sent to Japan to assist with radiation containment at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. The pump comes mounted on a 26-wheel truck. Its extendable boom can reach more than 60 meters, and can be operated up to 3 kms away by remote control, making it possible to shoot water into hard-to-reach places. If necessary, the pump could also entomb a damaged nuclear reactor in concrete. After a 1986 disaster, Putzmeister sent 11 pumps to pour concrete over parts of the Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine.

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Hopefully the big Putz will help the situation at Fukushima.

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This looks like a scene from the UK series Thunderbirds....the series was pretty advanced and realistic with it's lifelike models...now we are seeing the unbelievable for real!

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The pump is from a company in Augusta, GA that donated it for use. They were using it, but said Japan needed it more than them.

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The name of the pump, the symbolism (unintended, of course) of the photo... this is just too funny for a pre-coffee Saturday morning... :-p

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Paul is a guy. And also "driven into the belly". JapanToday has never been more unintentionally racy than this. Hilarious stuff.

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Russian plane, American machinery, all to help Japan. Talk about helping hands.

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Your information is incorrect writer, the plane is made and designed in Ukraine not Russia..

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Those are massive cargo aircraft & I knew a bit about them when in contact with Pairs to Dakar competition & they moved all the m/cs, to cars, to big trucks, the choppers & all the electrical equipment in just one day to Egypt. As rebels might hit the race of the bikes, cars, to large trucks & such. After all they did it before a few yrs prior.

Also just last year or the year prior one came into Kelowna city with a number of the Russian choppers hauled off to a shop that would do all that was needed in converting them for logging matters to hauling water to the many wild forest fires in this Province of B.C. What amazed me is that they did not need a long landing strip.

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That single scene represents amazing feats of engineering, technology and ambition.

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The big question is WILL THEY BE ABLE TO DRIVE THIS SUCKER ON JAPANS SMALL ROADS????

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@Tezbo: Well, there is a small airport smack right in Fukushima, just a few kilometers away from the coast, and I don't think the roads there will have much traffic to worry about.

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Its an AN-124 designed by the Soviet Antonov Design Bureau and built in Russia and Ukraine

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Suddenly this place freaks me out! Too many aeroplane/airplane otaku!

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I wonder will the beuracracy in Japan make them take it to LTO before it can operate on the roads here, and get all of the necessary permits. Make sure that they get to the local police station before 1715, or they will have to wait an additional day.

The roads will probably be a problem. They are narrow to begin with, and I am sure that there is still debris along the way.

But good luck to them.

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Wow. Use the same vehicle to cool it down, then bury it in concrete...

Putz to the rescue

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mummet is correct its an AN124, the AN24 is a small turbo prop plane.

These AN124 are impressive I once loaded 6 x 40ft ocean containers into one at Narita was quite the scene as the containers got lifted off the chassis using the planes 4cranes located in the tail end, then placing them 2 abreast x 3long & we still cud have fit a 20ft container at the end if we needed to, awesome but incredible noisy beats these planes are. Will likely need to stop 4-5 times for fuel on its way here.

Heres hoping she can land safely up at Sendai Aiport!

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Its build and designed in Ukraine.. yes the company did start during soviet times.. but read up more on the company before stating something.

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built rather, Russia does make some parts for the plane, but 90% of the plane is made in Ukraine..

Moderator: Readers, don't get hung up on where the plane was built. That's not what this discussion is about.

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Putz=Cleaning, Meister= Master. American Machinery? Hooops.

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GOOD LUCK TO THEM! i hope it will supply well needed help

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With this giant concrete pump, Japan can speed up the progress of cooling fuel rodes or cement the reactors. For the mission, we have seen three nationalities - US. Ashmore Concrete Contractor Inc (owners of Putzmeister concrete pump), German Putzmeister (manufacturer of the concrete pump), Russian Antonov AN-24 cargo jet (compatible to minimal group services and airport conditions as well as higher power-to-weight ratio advantage, But the cost of chartering the airplane and rental is on the U.S. company's checkbook.

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Mod is right, who cares wether its Russia or Ukraine. Much more important PUTZMEISTER is a German company, worldleading, also it might be of course that this "Meister-Monster" has been built in USA!

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Actually, Putzmeister is a German company. The head office is in the village Aichtal in Germany. And in the USA some of the subsidiaries are located. The company also has a branch office in Chiba prefecture, so they know how to do the paperwork when they are importing this kind of big machinery.

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The AN-124 seems to need 2800 to 3000 meters to land and take off, probably the shorter distance as I think it is not weight but size that dictates the AN-124's use for this concrete pump. Load size is sometimes the reason this plane is used.

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Is this larger than a C5?

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erectlic O4: beat ya ;-)

And the english translation is more like "Plaster Master" !

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Whatever the case, I am glad that big Putzmeister is coming. Its presence is long overdue. I hope it is around when (not if) either Tepco or the Japanese government decides to entomb the reactors.

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KingSaint:

" Russian plane, American machinery, all to help Japan. Talk about helping hands. "

Actually, Putzmeister is a German manufacturer. And I understand it is not one of, but the biggest gadget of its type. Same for for the Antonow plane. Awsome contraptions both.

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" Wow. Use the same vehicle to cool it down, then bury it in concrete... "

We seem to have a whole faction of people here who are obsessed with concrete.

Somehow, the magical "concrete" is supposed to be the solution to everything. While in real life, of course it isnt.

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is this machine just going to be standing by in case they lose control of the cooling scenario and have to entomb the reactors?

if not, what exactly are they going to use it for at this juncture?

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ubikwit:

" Russian plane, American machinery, all to help Japan. Talk about helping hands. "

According to an interview with Putzmeister, they are going to use it to pump water at this point, and they want this pump because it is bigger and better controllable than any of the pumps they have currently.

Eventually, it will probably be used to pump concrete, when it is time to build a big tomb. But that is some time in the future.

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SCAP65

Is this larger than a C5?

Yes. Not neccessarily better but indeed larger.

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The C5 has more useable cargo space from forward to aft, but the AN is a bit wider left/right in the cargo area. Sitting next to each other, they look identical with the AN having slightly wider wingspan. Also, the reported max weight of the AN is the most it can ever carry and it's arguably not safe if it does. The C5 can carry a little more weight under a waiver safely.

We already received one of the pump trucks and this one should be here later tonight.

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Salsero:

Reality check: The AN 225 is an extended version of the AN 124, so hardly a difference like that between B373 and A380.

And according to Wiki, they were going to use the AN 225 to transport the Putzmeister. So maybe they found a way to fit it in the An124 after all.

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To clarify: It's an AN-124, not an AN-24, as the story says. And it is Russian, in that the airline it is flying under (Volga-Dnepr) is Russian.

Impressive photo I must say, and it seems to have generated a lot of interest...

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Monster Truck. Monster Plane. WOW.

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Monster Truck. Monster Plane. WOW.

Just symbols: "Open your big hatch, here comes the Plaster Master"...no wonder so many people are suddenly drooling here! lol

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According to Putzmeister, there has been a 58 metre "large boom pump" pumping cooling water at Fukushima since March 22 and two 62 meter units and two 70 meter units, that were schedualed for other customers, are being sent to or have arrived in Japan.

The M70-5 is mounted on a 10 axle semitrailer, pulled by a 500 HP/370 kW tractor unit, weighs 80 tonnes and is 21.4 metres long.

I wonder if roads will have to be reinforced or rebuilt to accommodate this vehicle weight and if buildings will have to be moved or torn down to allow this monster to make left/right turns?

Whatever it takes to get the job done needs to be done.

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I would love to see the machine in action.

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I know the short term (few hundred years) is encasing the reactor in concrete last resort...but even under normal conditions concrete has a finite life span...then what? It might be the proverbial dumb or unanswerable question but, "what do people do several generations in the future when the concrete begins to crumble and lose its integrety?"

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My ignorance on the various Russian models. Also know that Canada has purchased FOUR the largest American cargo aircraft, not up to snuff of the Russian I feel, but so often when sending troops to Afghanistan or equipment then Canada had to hire some firm in the USA to do the job.

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As I have previewed some info about Russian Antonov AN-24 cargo jet, U.S. Atalanta-based Ashmore Concrete Contractor Inc is one of largest businesses in the field, it has a large fleet of German special concrete pumps like Putzmeister. For a transportation cost and other supporting conditions, this company's managers know the Russian airplane can do at a lowest cost and high efficiency. it may cost more to charter American or Airbus cargo airplanes as well as those airplanes require a standard airport with more supporting services on a ground for taking off and landing procedure. But we know the tsunami has destroyed most of airports and roads in Tohoku. Its mission of transporting the giant pump, not passengers.

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shinkansenjp,

I can guarantee this Antonov will cost much more than chartering a boeing or AirBus freighter, simple fact is this vehicle cant fit in a Boeing or AirBus freighter because they are too small, they have a floor that runs the length of the freighter so they accomadate upper & lower deck pallets so a vehicle like this simply wont fit.

Antonov's are hollow inside, anything shipped on these are bulk loaded, they are great for oversize cargo which clealy applies here, but cost wise I wud guess 2 to 2 & half times a Boeing or AirBus freighter. But ferring costs also figure into this, ie where the plane has to fly to get to the US, where it has to fly after Japan, all this & more figure into costs

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should be ferrying costs

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Seawolf:

" Just symbols: "Open your big hatch, here comes the Plaster Master" "

LOL, I didn´t think of it like that but yes you are right. Old Sigmund would have a lot to say about the plaster master and his 70 meter long boom.

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The JT got it wrong. An-24 is a small prop plane. This is An-124

The Antonov An-124 Ruslan (Ukrainian and Russian: Антонов Ан-124 «Руслан») (NATO reporting name: Condor) is a strategic airlift jet aircraft. It was designed by the Soviet Union's Antonov design bureau. It is the world's largest ever serially-manufactured cargo airplane and world's second largest operating cargo aircraft.

The largest cargo plane is An-225 Mria. It's in operation but never mass produced.

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Some people appear to be interested, so let's get something straight. This AN 24 is not the biggest of Anatov's planes. The Anatov 225 is larger than this one. If someone likes doing comparisons, one should compare the AN 225 to the C5. We don't compare B737s to A380s.

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