Bruce Dickinson always loved planes but never thought he could fly one. In the ’90s, when Iron Maiden took a break, he was inspired to learn to fly after discovering that Iron Maiden’s drummer, Nicko McBrain, was taking flying lessons.
So he went for it. He started with a private license and worked up to a commercial pilot’s license, qualifying to fly passengers worldwide. Bruce earned an Airline Transport Pilot’s Licence, which requires rigorous training and detailed knowledge of aircraft operations and navigation.
Pilot and Entrepreneur
Dickinson acquired his recreational flying skills in Florida during the 1990s and subsequently obtained an airline transport pilot’s license. He served as a captain for the now-defunct British charter airline Astraeus, where he frequently piloted Boeing 757 aircraft. On 16 September 2010, he transitioned to the role of marketing director at Astraeus. One of his primary responsibilities was to enhance the airline’s visibility through increased promotional video production, culminating in a video released by the Civil Aviation Authority in June 2011 featuring Dickinson discussing aircraft loading safety.
After Astraeus ceased operations on 21 November 2011, Dickinson launched into entrepreneurship by founding Cardiff Aviation Ltd on 1 May 2012. This aircraft maintenance company is located at the Twin Peaks Hangar in St Athan, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. As The Wall Street Journal reported in January 2013, Cardiff Aviation had generated 40 jobs and aimed to expand its workforce to over a hundred by the summer of that year. By June 2013, The Daily Telegraph noted that the company had grown to employ between 60 and 70 individuals and was negotiating to establish its airline. In August 2015, Cardiff Aviation agreed to provide airline support for Air Djibouti, with Dickinson piloting their inaugural flight—a Boeing 737 from Cardiff to Djibouti—the following year.
Through his entrepreneurial endeavors, Dickinson has delivered keynote addresses at various international events, including the Innovation Showcase at Queen Mary University of London in November 2012, Connect2Business in Stockholm in March 2013, Aviation Week’s MRO Europe Conference in London in October 2015, and “Blog Now, Live Forever” in Mumbai in October 2015.
Heroic Flights and Aerial Acrobatics
During the 2008–09 “Somewhere Back in Time World Tour,“ he was the pilot for Iron Maiden’s chartered Boeing 757, known as “Ed Force One,” specially modified to transport the band’s equipment across continents. This experience culminated in the documentary film Iron Maiden: Flight 666. Dickinson again piloted “Ed Force One” for “The Final Frontier World Tour” in 2011.
For the 2016 “The Book of Souls World Tour,” the band upgraded to a Boeing 747 400 jumbo jet, necessitating Dickinson to complete type conversion training to operate the aircraft. In 2014, he acquired a replica of the Fokker Dr.I triplane, designated G-CDXR, and became a Great War Display Team member, which reenacts aerial battles from the First World War at air shows throughout the UK.
Interestingly, the thematic fascination with aviation doesn’t end in the skies or at air shows. It also translates into the virtual world through games like the aviator-game-app, which captures the excitement and strategy of flying, much like Dickinson’s real-life aviation adventures. This link between aviation and gaming mirrors the themes explored in Iron Maiden’s song “The Angel and the Gambler,” where the thrill of taking risks and the strategy involved in making choices are vividly portrayed.
Before long, he was flying for real airlines. Can you imagine? Booking a flight and finding out your pilot’s a rock god? But the coolest part came in 2008. Iron Maiden was planning a world tour, and Bruce had this crazy idea: Why not fly the band himself? That’s how Ed Force One was born—a massive Boeing 757 painted up like an Iron Maiden album cover, with Bruce in the cockpit.
A Man of Many Talents
Bruce Dickinson’s diverse interests and activities extend far beyond music. He’s a commercial pilot and a skilled fencer, having secured 7th place in Great Britain and starting a fencing equipment company named Duellist. His creative energy also flows into writing and broadcasting. Furthermore, Bruce has ventured into beer brewing and spearheads his beer brand. Recognizing his multifaceted career and contributions, Intelligent Life named him a contemporary polymath in 2009.
