Seeing the pictures on airliners.net and the availability of the newer minifans brought the idea.

How big does the wingspan have to be to have a six-fan bird like this? Spectacular is the word that comes to mind...

It's been done. See the December '97 issue of EFI for a write-up on this very impressive scale aircraft.

Jim

Hans Bühr from switzerland built the AN-226 with the Buran on top.
The Buran lauches from the Mrija and glides to the ground radiocontrolled

I have a picture of me sitting in the pilots seat 50 feet above the ground. Huge airplane. Now very dangerious to fly as the owners have no money to maintain it.

There is also some information about Hans Bühr's An-225 model in The E Zone. It's at the very end of the Aspach 1999 Part 2 review.

You can also read about it and the Buran space shuttle in Model Airplane News, March 2001, in the Final Approach column (last page.)