Iron Maiden on tour in a 747

Ya know.. As a child of the late 60's/ early 70's.. I am impressed with this guy flying the band around in a 747.... Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought it could happen...:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
Not being familiar with the goings on of Iron Maiden (I didn't even know they were still a band) I don't know, is Bruce Dickenson already a licensed pilot? Did he get the rating and fly the 757 before? Why the hell do they call it Ed Force One? :confused:
 
Dav8or said:
Not being familiar with the goings on of Iron Maiden (I didn't even know they were still a band) I don't know, is Bruce Dickenson already a licensed pilot? Did he get the rating and fly the 757 before? Why the hell do they call it Ed Force One? :confused:
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Bruce flies for Icelandic. It's his "day" job.
 
Dav8or said:
Not being familiar with the goings on of Iron Maiden (I didn't even know they were still a band) I don't know, is Bruce Dickenson already a licensed pilot? Did he get the rating and fly the 757 before? Why the hell do they call it Ed Force One? :confused:
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He has been a pilot, I think he sometimes does biplane dogfight demos before shows.

Eddie (Ed) is the character on all their album cover art, hence Ed Force One
 
B17Rex said:
So Bruce Dickinson is at it again. Currently going through type training for a 747 in order to fly the band around on their next tour. That is some dedication!
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So which FBO has a 747 on the rental line? It is probably an old "rope start" 747-200.

Good for Bruce for figuring out how to fly around in a 74 and have at least some of the cost be tax deductible! Gotta get to the venue, don'tcha know....
 
steingar said:
They still play concerts? Those guys aren't exactly spring chickens.
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Yet they still kick more a$$ on stage than most bands half their age! They are one of the best live shows I have seen.

-Brian
 
LDJones said:
Pretty darn cool.
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Agreed....

Of all the rockers who died of overdoses, liver failure,suicide and various other methods compounded by the rock and roll lifestyle. These guys are able to play on into their senior years in style and piloted by a guy who defied traditional rocker endings...

Just last week the Stones plane was here for several days... And I am 100% sure Mick , or any of the others where NOT:no::no: driving the bus...:yikes::redface:.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-56GC_w7-pW4/VE3kwcw32EI/AAAAAAAASmY/7AFwrFH-1lA/s1600/Rolling+Stones.jpg
 
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BigBadLou said:
LOL. Millenials are funny. :)

12 tons of equipment (from the article), that is impressive. I wonder when they will show the interior, I would be curious to see.
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Since it's leased from an airline I'm guess there wasn't a lot of interior customization. I could be wrong.

I'm curious what it costs to repaint a leased 747? :dunno:
 
I'm assuming it's the kind that is half cargo, half seating, clearly they don't need that many seats.
 
LDJones said:
Since it's leased from an airline I'm guess there wasn't a lot of interior customization. I could be wrong.

I'm curious what it costs to repaint a leased 747? :dunno:
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I am guessing they took a all white 747 and added decals..... Maybe 20 grand...:dunno::dunno:
 
Yeah, its cool that the front man is a pilot. I'm scratching my head how this makes financial sense.

Most bands tour on buses. No doubt the 747 can lift their equipment and personnel, but they still have to get it to the arena after they land (carry portable staging and play the airports?). And I don't care how cool the front man is, after the gig he doesn't want the second job of flying the crew to their next destination. The idea is that everyone gets on the bus and someone else drives them to the next gig while they sleep. Not to mention one source puts the hourly operating costs of a 747 at ~$25,000.
 
DJTorrente said:
Yeah, its cool that the front man is a pilot. I'm scratching my head how this makes financial sense.

Most bands tour on buses. No doubt the 747 can lift their equipment and personnel, but they still have to get it to the arena after they land (carry portable staging and play the airports?). And I don't care how cool the front man is, after the gig he doesn't want the second job of flying the crew to their next destination. The idea is that everyone gets on the bus and someone else drives them to the next gig while they sleep. Not to mention one source puts the hourly operating costs of a 747 at ~$25,000.
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Ummmm, Iron Maiden is just a little past the tour bus stage of their careers...
 
There was a show regarding the last tour they flew on, and it wasn't about money. They were sick of riding tour buses and looking to do something different to tour.

To the person making remarks about old folks playing songs from yesteryear, are you saying you'd rather pay to see crapola like Miley, Bieber, or any of the other acts that won't be able to sell out a Starbucks 10 years from now? Admittedly some acts need to hang it up, but having seen two Crüe/Alice Cooper shows on their final tour, as well as AC/DC a few years back, there are those that can still bring it.
 
Dickensen has been flying the big iron (get it?) for their tours for years.

A couple years ago he opened his own short hop airline. Not sure if that's still operating.
 
DJTorrente said:
Yeah, its cool that the front man is a pilot. I'm scratching my head how this makes financial sense.

Most bands tour on buses. No doubt the 747 can lift their equipment and personnel, but they still have to get it to the arena after they land (carry portable staging and play the airports?). And I don't care how cool the front man is, after the gig he doesn't want the second job of flying the crew to their next destination. The idea is that everyone gets on the bus and someone else drives them to the next gig while they sleep. Not to mention one source puts the hourly operating costs of a 747 at ~$25,000.
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It probably doesn't make any financial sense.


The PA and lighting gear required for this level of touring is well beyond a 747's capability so this gear for the tour will no doubt travel by tractor trailer from show to show and the PA, video and lighting vendors could very well change out from continent to continent....may be even from hop to hop depending on the ability of the vendor to provide matching sets of gear at extreme ends of a country/continent.

I'd guess that they might put the band gear, consoles perhaps sets on the 747 and fly to another continent when the need arises but highly unlikely from city to city on a particular continent.

The hops are all pretty sane in the link below for the 2010/2011 tour...so flying after the gig is not a big deal...he'd be part 91 correct? :D:D


Clark1961 said:
Ummmm, Iron Maiden is just a little past the tour bus stage of their careers...
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Probably not as much as you think...the 2016 dates have not been released but if you look at the 2010/2011 dates here
you will see hops where the loading the 747 with gear will make zero logistical sense.

The logistical challenges of loading the gear out of the venue, into a tractor trailer, to the airport and on to the 747 then off again at the other end are absurd.

Really, it's hard to get away from a bus in many instances...
 
DJTorrente said:
Yeah, its cool that the front man is a pilot. I'm scratching my head how this makes financial sense.

Most bands tour on buses. No doubt the 747 can lift their equipment and personnel, but they still have to get it to the arena after they land (carry portable staging and play the airports?). And I don't care how cool the front man is, after the gig he doesn't want the second job of flying the crew to their next destination. The idea is that everyone gets on the bus and someone else drives them to the next gig while they sleep. Not to mention one source puts the hourly operating costs of a 747 at ~$25,000.
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The bus ride to China is VERY long.
 
He does it because he can, not because it makes the accountants happy.

Is it a 747-400?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
rolivi said:
No, I think Maiden pays for their own travel
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Many tours are underwritten by one or more promoters (AEG, Live Nation, SFX, Outback) who guarantee the band a certain amount of money...but in the end...the cost come from proceeds...
 
So, I wonder what his fall back job is in case the pilot/rocker thing doesn't work out..?? :lol::lol::lol:
 
Someone asked Paul DiAnno what he was flying these days...

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They're going to a new continent.

The new Ed Force One will take the band, crew and over 12 tons of equipment more than 55,000 miles (88,500km) around the planet with concerts in six of the seven continents (Australasia, Asia, North and South America, Africa and Europe), with "The Book Of Souls" world tour 2016 expected to visit around 35 countries.
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side note, their song 'Rime Of The Ancient Mariner' makes great cliff notes for the poem of the same name by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
 
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