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Red Bull Hangar 7
SALZBURG, Austria — This city is well known as the birthplace of Mozart, the backdrop for the Sound of Music and simply for being a beautiful place. But thanks to worldwide interest in caffeinated energy drinks and Dietrich Mateschitz's desire to share his love of aircraft and race cars, one of this city's newest places to visit is known as Hangar 7.
Located at the Salzburg Airport, Hangar 7 could be called the Red Bull toy box. It is where Mateschitz, who co-founded Red Bull in 1987, stores all his coolest toys. It is a massive glass-enclosed hangar complete with a changing collection of airplanes belonging to the Flying Bulls. It's also got an assortment of Formula 1 cars sponsored by Red Bull, along with a handful of racing motorcycles as well.
We recently paid a visit to Hangar 7 and got a chance to walk across the apron and peek inside Hangar 8, where a fleet of more than 20 Red Bull aircraft is stored and maintained.
Hangar 8's appearance is stunning, and a team of more than 60 people maintains, manages and flies the fleet. Everything is flown regularly. Most perform throughout Europe during the airshow season, and a few are used primarily for business.
All summer long a busy flying schedule keeps four full-time pilots and a handful of part-time pilots in the air most of the time. Whether flying a graceful aerobatic routine in the F4U Corsair, flying to a nearby lake in the Cessna Caravan (on amphibious floats) or transporting VIPs to an F1 race in the vintage DC-6, these guys enjoy some of the best aviation jobs in the world.
Located at the Salzburg Airport, Hangar 7 could be called the Red Bull toy box. It is where Mateschitz, who co-founded Red Bull in 1987, stores all his coolest toys. It is a massive glass-enclosed hangar complete with a changing collection of airplanes belonging to the Flying Bulls. It's also got an assortment of Formula 1 cars sponsored by Red Bull, along with a handful of racing motorcycles as well.
We recently paid a visit to Hangar 7 and got a chance to walk across the apron and peek inside Hangar 8, where a fleet of more than 20 Red Bull aircraft is stored and maintained.
Hangar 8's appearance is stunning, and a team of more than 60 people maintains, manages and flies the fleet. Everything is flown regularly. Most perform throughout Europe during the airshow season, and a few are used primarily for business.
All summer long a busy flying schedule keeps four full-time pilots and a handful of part-time pilots in the air most of the time. Whether flying a graceful aerobatic routine in the F4U Corsair, flying to a nearby lake in the Cessna Caravan (on amphibious floats) or transporting VIPs to an F1 race in the vintage DC-6, these guys enjoy some of the best aviation jobs in the world.
Sebastian Vettel's 2008 STR3 Formula 1 car in front of a Vought F4U-4 Corsair
Dornier Alphas
At the center of Hangar 7's ceiling hangs an unusual meeting room. Building codes require two exits for every room, so in addition to the winding walkway, there is a box with a ladder on the near side for a quick exit.
P-38 Lightning
For many years this was the airplane raced by Lefty Gardner as "White Lightnin'" at the annual Reno Air Races in Nevada
Sebastian Vettel's 2009 F1 championship winning RB5 in front of a B-25 Mitchell
features a small leather couch where the nose guns once were
Pilatus PC-6 Porter
Bell TAH-1F Cobra
Extra 300, one of the Red Bull Air Race series planes
Douglas DC-6
...often shuttles VIPs to F1 races throughout Europe. It often garners far more attention upon arrival than the jets, says chief fixed-wing pilot Raimund Riedmann.
"When we are going to Formula 1 events" Riedmann says, "there are all those BBJs [Boeing Business Jets] and Gulfstreams coming in, and we are coming in with this."
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