One of the world's largest cargo aircraft is coming to the Prince George Airport.
A Russian-made Antonov-124 is scheduled to arrive Friday at 11 a.m. to pick up seven helicopters from three B.C. businesses for a VIH Helicopters Ltd. contract.
The time remains tentative, airport spokesperson Lindsay Cotter cautioned, and urged the public to visit the airport's Facebook page, www.facebook.com/FlyYXS, for the latest updates on arrival times.
Able to carry up to 120 tonnes, the Antonov-124 is the world's third largest operating cargo aircraft behind the Antonov-225 and the Boeing 747-8F. The last time an Antonov was in Prince George was June 1995, by Cotter's estimation.
The plane's arrival is expected to draw a large number of aviation enthusiasts and RCMP will be out controlling traffic on the Old Cariboo Highway and local roads.
The public is asked to park at the baseball diamonds off of Old Cariboo Highway to help lower congestion, Cotter said. She also urged people to carpool.
Regular passenger flights will not be affected, Cotter added.
The aircraft will leave Saturday morning loaded with six Bell 212 and one Bell 222 helicopters and make its way to Luanda, Angola, with stops in Edmonton and The Azores along the way.
The choppers will transport officials and ballot boxes to outlying villages during an election in the oil-rich southwestern African nation. Set for Aug. 31, it will only be the country's third election after it gained independence from Portugal in 1975.
VIH also sent helicopters to Angola in 2008-09 and has been involved in operations in other countries around the world, the company's operations manager, Vaughn Gouws said. Vancouver was used as the staging point last time.
"We're quite happy to be using Prince George, it's our primary maintenance place," Gouws said. "And with the runway extension, it made it possible and it's good to see it being used for what it was meant for."
Over the three-month contract, which Gouws said might be extended, as many as 35 VIH employees will have done a tour in Angola. Each helicopter requires a pilot and an engineer and there are also support staff.
"It's a hardworking holiday," Gouws said.
The Antonov will make for an impressive sight, Gouws predicted.
"It's something to see, it's an amazing aircraft," Gouws said. "And to take seven medium helicopters the way it does here is fantastic. It would be almost impossible to accomplish without it."
