A powerhouse with pedigree

With a deep growl from its mighty radial engine and a silhouette that evokes the golden age of piston-powered flight, a true legend has landed in Salzburg: The Flying Bulls proudly unveil the newest member of their fleet – the Grumman F8F-2 Bearcat, one of the last and most powerful piston-engine fighters ever built.

The Bearcat was Grumman’s swan song to the piston-era: light, fast, and brutally powerful. Designed in the waning days of World War II, it was intended to give the U.S. Navy an edge in dogfighting agility. Though the war ended before it saw combat, the Bearcat would leave its mark in other ways, with record-breaking climb rates and a role in inspiring generations through airshows and elite demonstration teams like the Blue Angels.

According to Eskil Amdal, CEO of The Flying Bulls, the Bearcat is “the ultimate piston-engine fighter,” with performance unmatched by any other propeller-driven aircraft of its time. “It’s the last, most powerful and best-performing piston fighter before the jets took over,” he says. “Even today, it still holds the climb record for piston-powered fighters.” That level of performance, and its sheer scarcity, made it a must-have. “There are likely no more than six or seven Bearcats flying in the world today,” Eskil notes.

The aircraft acquired by The Flying Bulls, BuNo 121776 (Blue Angels Bureau Numbers), is instantly recognizable in its gleaming navy-blue livery – a nod to its postwar role as a Blue Angels aircraft. Most recently, it was owned by American collector John O’Connor. “When I went to inspect it in Chicago, the previous owner had put a sticky note on it that read, ‘Warning: After flying this, you’ll never want to fly anything else,’” Eskil recalls with a grin. “It was clearly his favourite too.” Finding someone willing to part with a Bearcat is no small feat. “These are aircraft you buy and never sell. But for John, it had become physically challenging to get in and out of the cockpit, and he wanted to see it go to a good home. We’re honoured he chose us.”

A strategic addition

The Bearcat isn’t just another showpiece. It fills a strategic and symbolic role in The Flying Bulls’ formation aerobatics. Sharing the same powerful Pratt & Whitney R-2800 engine as the team’s Corsair and DC-6B, the Bearcat fits seamlessly into multi-aircraft performances. “We needed something that could perform on par – or even better – than the Corsair, the Lightning and the Mustang,” Eskil explains. “And from both a pilot’s and engineer’s standpoint, we already have deep experience with this engine, which helps us operate safely and efficiently.”

An intercontinental journey

Bringing the Bearcat home was an adventure in itself. After a meticulous inspection and test flights in the U.S., the aircraft was flown from Chicago to Texas, then carefully loaded – wings folded – onto a ship bound for Europe. “You could technically fly it over,” the CEO says, “but with a rare, unfamiliar, single-engine aircraft, the risk was too high. If something goes wrong over the Atlantic, you’ve lost a treasure. Shipping was the safer choice.” Once in Belgium, the Bearcat was reassembled and flown to Salzburg, with Eskil Amdal himself piloting the final leg after a mid-air rendezvous with two other fighters over Chiemsee. “It was our way of honouring the aircraft and marking the moment,” he says. “A proper welcome.”