Leading air charter broker, Air Partner, has teamed up with Ruslan International to fly a spectacular, gigantic mechanical Dragon Horse to Beijing. “Long Ma Jing Shen” or ‘The Spirit of the Horse Dragon’ will participate in a Chinese parade to mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between France and China. The unique 12 metre high, 46 tonne mechanical model was built in France by La Machine.  Air Partner has flown the giant dragon from Nantes in France to China on an Antonov 124.  The celebration parade will take place in Beijing in October. The mode,l which requires at least eight human operators riding aboard to control the puppet’s movements,,comprises a wooden chassis over a steel body.  The dragon has articulations that enable intricate movements including the ability to rear its hind legs, spew fire, snort jets of smoke and uncoil its tongue. The model sits on a support vehicle enabling it to move at speed. Thierry Zemouli, from Air Partner’s French office, commented, “The Air Partner team worked extremely hard throughout the meticulous six hour loading process, to ensure that the model would arrive safely in China. With such a complicated machine, we had to use Air Partner’s freight expertise to ensure that no damage occurred on the flight. The Antonov 124 was an ideal aircraft for Long Ma Shin as its doors open to 6.4m x 4.4m.  We are looking forward to watching the parade!” Says Andriy Blagovisniy: “The history of the AN-124 is one of carrying exceptional loads; but this ranks among the most unusual and fascinating assignments with which Ruslan International has yet dealt. Specialists from Ruslan International’s  Load Planning Department developed a custom solution for loading and safely securing this unique cargo, and preparations for the flight took 3 months. We are delighted to have been involved in the safe transportation of this amazing machine, and look forward to seeing its performance in China.”