Aerobatic Flying
Meet the Aerial Beauties That Make Up the Flying Bulls Fleet
This is everything you need to know about the Douglas DC-6B, North American B-25J Mitchell, Lockheed P-38 Lightning and the rest of the Flying Bulls fleet.
Whether they were saved from a rusty death on an abandoned airfield or bought from private collections, the vintage aircraft that make up the fleet of The Flying Bulls are something to behold.
Restored to their former glory and flown as if they've just rolled out of the factory, the planes' powerful roar and sleek beauty are the highlight of air shows around the world.
Get to know the members of this special fleet as they gear up for another year of wowing aviation fans.
Douglas DC-6B
Douglas DC-6B
© Cornelius Braun/Red Bull Content Pool
Douglas DC-6B cockpit
© Cornelius Braun/Red Bull Content Pool
A shiny Douglas DC-6B
© Cornelius Braun/Red Bull Content Pool
Nothing says "golden age of air travel" like the Douglas DC-6. It evokes images of swishing across the Atlantic at 20,000ft [6,096m] accompanied by crisp uniforms and dry martinis. But the image of the First Class Pan-Am Super Six Clipper isn’t quite what the Douglas Aircraft Company had in mind when the prototype rolled out of its Santa Monica factory.
Designed during WWII, the DC-6 was originally commissioned by the US Army Air Force as a stretched, pressurised replacement for the DC-4/C-54 Skymaster. By the time the prototype was ready, hostilities had ceased and the DC-6 was demobbed, entering civilian service in 1947. Between 1946-58, Douglas produced 704 DC-6 airframes, spread across four configurations.
President Harry S Truman was the first global statesman to use a DC-6 for personal transportation — but he was by no means the last. The DC-6B in the Flying Bulls collection was originally ordered by Marshal Tito. The President of Yugoslavia used the aircraft between 1958 and 1975, after which it passed to Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda.
The aircraft was later abandoned at Lusaka Airport, and bought by a Namibian aviation company that began a restoration project. In 2000, this project passed into the hands of the Flying Bulls. The airworthy DC-6 made the ferry flight to Salzburg, where thousands of hours of work saw it restored to its former glory, with an all-new interior and four new Pratt & Whitney R 2800 'Double-Wasp' engines.
The DC-6 is undoubtedly the pride of the Flying Bulls. It makes regular appearances at air displays – but it also winds back the clock occasionally when it's used as a luxury passenger transport, just as it was 60 years ago.
North American B-25J Mitchell
The Flying Bulls' North American B-25 Mitchell in action
© Andreas Gall/Red Bull Content Pool
The cockpit of the North American B-25J Mitchell
© Cornelius Braun/Red Bull Content Pool
North American B-25J Mitchell at home in Salzburg
© Cornelius Braun/Red Bull Content Pool
There’s no shortage of pretty aircraft in the Flying Bulls fleet but, on a clear day in the Alps, with the sun gleaming off its aluminium airframe and glass bombardier nose, none look as dazzling as the North American B-25J Mitchell bomber.
Named in honour of General Williams 'Billy' Mitchell – father of the US Air Force – the B-25 was a WWII workhorse. The twin-engine, medium bomber was used in every WWII theatre and with most Allied air forces. In production between 1941 and 1945, nearly 10,000 B-25 variants rolled out of the NAA factories in Inglewood, California, and Kansas City, Missouri.
The -J designation was the final mainstream model produced and accounted for the largest percentage of B-25s, with 4,318 manufactured. The Flying Bulls' model was one of the final B-25s produced in Kansas in 1945. It never went to war, but it has had a lively career nonetheless. Originally, the aircraft functioned as an R&D platform for testing electronics, before being mothballed at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona – aka 'The Boneyard'.
The arid Sonoran climate obviously suited Red Bull's B-25 as it came out of retirement in the 1970s, with the intention of turning it into an aerial fire-fighting platform. It was never actually used in that role, but instead it was purchased by a flying club back in Kansas City, where it flew until 1994, when it was bought for the Flying Bulls.
As it approached its 50th birthday, the aircraft was beginning to show signs of its age. Before being transferred to Hangar 7, in Salzburg, it received a comprehensive overhaul in the US. It was converted to civilian specifications, with a rather more comfortable interior.
For the last two decades it's lived in Austria and is a familiar sight above Salzburg as it makes its way around Europe on a busy schedule of air shows.
Lockheed P-38 Lightning
Lockheed P-38 Lightning
© Jay Miller/Red Bull Content Pool
Lockheed P-38 Lightning
© Andreas Gall/Red Bull Content Pool
The Flying Bulls' P-38L Lightning at Hangar-7
© Helge Kirchberger/Red Bull Content Pool
The Flying Bulls fleet contains several aircraft that fall into the "priceless" category, but when it comes to rarity, nothing comes close to the Lockheed P-38 Lightning. Of the 10,037 P-38s manufactured by Lockheed, only 26 survive. And of those, only 10 are airworthy.
The P-38 was a heavy fighter, designed to fly higher and faster than its competition. It became something of an all-rounder, used for bombing, ground attack, night-fighting, pathfinding, long-range escort duty and photo reconnaissance. Its distinctive design, with a central cockpit nacelle and twin booms housing the engines, entered operation with the US Army Air Corps in 1941 and was the only US fighter aircraft in mainstream production throughout WWII.
The Flying Bulls' P-38L, manufactured in 1944, has quite a history. The -L derivative was the most numerous Lightning produced, with 3,923 aircraft manufactured. The designation P-38 F-5G-6-LO marks it out as a Lightning built in the F-5G photo-reconnaissance configuration, in the sixth production block at Lockheed’s Burbank factory. It was sold into civilian hands shortly after the end of WWII and, upgraded with modified carburettors for water injection, began a second life in air racing, winning various prizes.
In 1963, the plane was purchased by decorated WWII flier Marvin "Lefty" Gardner, who gave the aircraft a white livery and a distinctive presence at the Reno Air Races, where it performed for many years as "White Lightnight."
A spot of bad luck in 2001 saw an engine fire force the plane to crash land in a Mississippi cotton field, where it sustained substantial damage. The Flying Bulls saved it, though, restoring the plane to its former glory. It’s now the only flying P-38 in Europe.
Chance Vought F4U Corsair
The Flying Bulls' Chance Vought F4U-4 Corsair flies over Austria
© Markus Zinner/Red Bull Content Pool
The cockpit of the Flying Bulls' Chance Vought F4U-4 Corsair
© Cornelius Braun/Red Bull Content Pool
The Chance Vought F4U-4 Corsair's folding wings
© Cornelius Braun/Red Bull Content Pool
Soon to be celebrating its 75th birthday, the Flying Bulls have to be a little careful with their Vought F4U-4 Corsair. But old age hasn't made this vintage naval aircraft any less agile. Even in its eighth-decade of operation, it’s still happy to barrel through 4.5G rolls, and, on rare occasions, fly at its top speed of 466 mph.
The Corsair is a WWII icon, associated particularly with the naval war in the Pacific. Having been designed for aircraft carrier operations, the plane features distinctive folding wings, a high intercept speed, and also a low-stall speed to assist with landing on the short deck of a carrier. It was still in demand after the end of WWII, seeing service in the Korean War. Its 11-year production run from 1942 to 1953 is the longest of any U.S. piston-engined fighter aircraft.
The -4 was the final Corsair to see combat in WWII, with deliveries beginning early in 1945. It featured a distinctive four-blade propeller, marking it out from the three-bladed propellers of earlier models. It had a higher top speed and better climb rate than its predecessors, at the cost of reduced range.
The Flying Bulls' plane was delivered to the US Navy in 1945, from Chance Vought’s factory in Stratford, Connecticut, but didn't actually see combat. A few years later, it was sold to the Honduran Air Force, which operated a fleet of Corsairs until 1979, though this particular plane returned to the US in 1965 when it became part of a private collection. The Flying Bulls acquired the plane in 1990.
The Corsair is a bit of a diva, requiring around 40 hours of maintenance for every hour it spends in the air. But it’s well worth the effort. If the sight of the Corsair flinging itself through the sky doesn’t get you, then the enormous, throaty roar of its 46l Pratt And Whitney R- 2800 "Double Wasp" engine certainly will.
