Ed Force One at Cardiff Airport

[SwissJonese]

Went along to see Iron Maiden's Ed Force One at Cardiff Airport, can't exactly miss the plane.

[Boatbuoy]

That Rocks!

[steveo3002]

thats pretty badass when u got your own jumbo

[Yertis]

You'd think whoever applied the livery would have planned the position of 'Iron Maiden' so it wasn't all tangled up with the upper deck windows. Hopeless...

[Ste1987]

Am I right saying that Bruce himself flies it?

[jmorgan]

Had to double take, a glancing glance sees a certain Middle East airline font......

[SwissJonese]

Ste1987 said:

Am I right saying that Bruce himself flies it?

Yes he landed it at Cardiff Airport and fly it around the tour, next stop Florida on Friday.

[Russwhitehouse]

Am I the only one gagging to see what the jolly old thing looks like inside?

[anonymous-user]

Russwhitehouse said:

Am I the only one gagging to see what the jolly old thing looks like inside?

Sad to say that I think it's probably pretty normal, as I seem to remember that it gets chartered out to other people when they're not using it.

[Jakg]

Russwhitehouse said:

Am I the only one gagging to see what the jolly old thing looks like inside?

Wiki suggests that it's had little to no modifications, probably due to a lot more space:
[quote]For the upcoming The Book of Souls World Tour (2016), the band have upgraded to a Boeing 747-400 jumbo jet, supplied by Air Atlanta Icelandic, which allows for more space without the aircraft having to undergo a significant conversion to carry their equipment.[190]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Maiden#Ed_Force_One

[hornetrider]

SwissJonese said:

Ste1987 said:

Am I right saying that Bruce himself flies it?

Yes he landed it at Cardiff Airport and fly it around the tour, next stop Florida on Friday.

I'm surprised. If I was him I'd prefer to get rat-arsed on vodka while being sucked off by an air hostess.

But maybe that's just me.

[anonymous-user]

hornetrider said:

SwissJonese said:

Ste1987 said:

Am I right saying that Bruce himself flies it?

Yes he landed it at Cardiff Airport and fly it around the tour, next stop Florida on Friday.

I'm surprised. If I was him I'd prefer to get rat-arsed on vodka while being sucked off by an air hostess.

But maybe that's just me.

Bruce flies it. He used to fly a B757 for Astreus, until they went bust. Mate of mine used to work with him, said he flew a normal roster and fitted in stuff like making rock videos between flights.

Apparently he just wanted to get on with it and be a normal employee but all the handling agents and baggage handlers etc used to come up to see him making any normal kind of working day a bit difficult.

[hornetrider]

el stovey said:

He used to fly a B757 for Astreus

I know. It appears I wasn't clear

My point was - seems like a busman's holiday to me. If I was a minted rock star flying between gigs, staying sober and clothed wouldn't be high on the priority list.

[SwissJonese]

hornetrider said:

I know. It appears I wasn't clear

My point was - seems like a busman's holiday to me. If I was a minted rock star flying between gigs, staying sober and clothed wouldn't be high on the priority list.

Maybe he already had years of fun and this is his next buzz, must be pretty fun flying something so massive.

[DrDeAtH]

Owns a Boeing 737, and a Fokker triplane replica
Also owns Cardiff Aviation based at St Athan.
Qualified 737 instructor
Type approved for 737,747,757

That's what I gleaned from a quick Google...

I think he likes flying a bit....
The bands last album certainly does have some strong aeronautical hints in the lyrics. Then there is Empire of the skies....

[mattdaniels]

hornetrider said:

I know. It appears I wasn't clear

My point was - seems like a busman's holiday to me. If I was a minted rock star flying between gigs, staying sober and clothed wouldn't be high on the priority list.

TBF these days he's a businessman / entrepreneur firstly, and a rock star secondly. Great article here: http://aviationweek.com/mro/bruce-dickinson-blends...

He started a business in Cardiff with his ex boss from Astreus providing maintenance, training and crews to airlines. It's going from strength to strength. He comes across as quite a sharp cookie. He's very passionate about flying. I loved his "Flying Heavy Metal" series on Discovery Turbo / Discovery Wings as was. Great programmes.

[Krikkit]

SwissJonese said:

hornetrider said:

I know. It appears I wasn't clear

My point was - seems like a busman's holiday to me. If I was a minted rock star flying between gigs, staying sober and clothed wouldn't be high on the priority list.

Maybe he already had years of fun and this is his next buzz, must be pretty fun flying something so massive.

Once you've done that for 15-20 years it probably gets a bit old...

[hantsxlg]

I saw Bruce in the cafe at Blackbushe airfield last summer. He had flown in in a little spamcan and was having a business meeting (like me) trying to sell his training services I think. Really good to see such an icon/famous person going about daily life. Acccording to the staff in the Cafe he pops in fairly often.

[jmorgan]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b070nmqy#play

49:15 in.

Until around 55:25

Edit. Interview about above flying machine and what is init with Mr Dickinson.

Edited by jmorgan on Friday 19th February 11:58

[Stig]

DrDeAtH said:

Then there is Empire of the skies....

They play that track on the longhaul legs - just the one play see's them most of the way there