Bruce in Astraeus In Flight Magazine
Here is what can be found in the current In Flight Magazine for Astraeus for which Bruce Dickinson is flying:"A large number of Astraeus passengers have been slightly surprised to learn that a chap called Bruce Dickinson – sharing the name of the Iron Maiden lead singer – is the First Officer on their flight. It comes as a much greater surprise to them to learn that the lead singer of Iron Maiden and the First Officer of today’s flight are, in fact, one and the same person.
Bruce took up pilot training during a career break from Iron Maiden in the early 1990s. It followed a long-held interest in aviation; indeed, Bruce was often let loose on the Combined Cadet Force ground trainer whilst still at school. Such adventures ended abruptly when, at the age of 16, he was expelled from boarding school for misdemeanours at the headmaster’s dinner.
This certainly didn’t deter Bruce from following pastimes that he enjoyed; as well as professional careers in both music and flying, he’s an Olympic-standard sword fencer (once ranked 7th in Great Britain) and has written two adult novels.
As Iron Maiden went from strength to strength in the early 1980s, Bruce’s interest in flying temporarily went on hold. The band released numerous tracks and albums, finding success with tracks like The Number of the Beast to establish a worldwide following. With sales of over 50 million records, Iron Maiden became a household name. It has also maintained its position largely thanks to an incredibly loyal fan base, encouraged heartily by both the band and EMI, its long-standing record label.
The demands of a loyal fan base can extend beyond the bounds that many would consider reasonable, but it’s second nature to Bruce. Recently, a small group of Iron Maiden fans had heard that Bruce would be attending a party at a hotel near Gatwick and turned up in the hope of meeting him. He actively took time out of the evening to go have a pint in the hotel bar with the fans before returning to the main function, thereby assuring that the group’s fans were delighted.
So how did Bruce come to be a fully-qualified First Officer, flying a 737 for Astraeus?
After taking a break from Iron Maiden to pursue a solo career in the early 1990s, Bruce decided to undertake his Private Pilot’s Licence, the first step for any pilot wishing to fly professionally or for leisure. He progressed his licence through to a Commercial Pilot’s Licence, allowing him to fly professionally, and undertook some work including transatlantic ferry flights on light aircraft and flying himself around to meet his music commitments.
When one of Bruce’s friends was asked to attend an airline proficiency test in early 2000, he asked Bruce if he could accompany him as co-pilot for the simulator detail. Quite by chance, John Mahon, now Astraeus’ Operations Director, was assessing the pilots on the simulator that day. Interested to test out Bruce’s flying skills as well, John asked Bruce to take part in the assessment and this resulted in him becoming a First Officer on the Boeing 757 aircraft.
When Astraeus was formed in early 2002, Bruce joined the team and has been flying the airline’s Boeing 737 aircraft to destinations throughout Europe and the Middle East ever since. There are no preferential schedules for Bruce and he will invariably be found at the controls of a “FlyStar” (Astraeus’ radio call-sign) flight at any time of the week, day or night.
You’re also just as likely to hear Bruce’s voice over the radio as the aircraft’s public address system; he presents regular rock music programmes on both Radio 2, where his weekly evening Masters of Rock programme contrasts with the dulcet tones of Terry Wogan, and also on BBC Digital’s 6 Music.
As well as his radio, recording and flying commitments, Bruce still manages to find time to lead a full family life with his wife and three children, the oldest of whom is 14. The Dickinson household makes few, if any, concessions to Bruce’s rock career - he still tells his children to turn their stereos down and couldn’t quite make it to the Astraeus Christmas Party because he couldn’t find a childminder for the evening. Second-hand reports suggest, however, that Bruce’s wife has insisted that the life-size Dalek that occupies the hall of the family home in West London has to go.
Iron Maiden is still very much at the forefront of the heavy metal music scene. Bruce rejoined in 1999 after his career break and the band has since gone on to release new albums, including Dance of Death in 2003 and undertaking a world tour. Bruce returned to flying between the two or three week legs of the tour, jetting off again to perform in the USA, Canada and around Europe.
For two events during the tour – in Paris and Dublin – Bruce arrived in style, flying an Astraeus Boeing 737 full of Iron Maiden fans for the evening before shedding his blue and white pilot’s uniform to don his “stage gear” - slightly toned down from the long hair and spandex outfits that he wore during the early days of Iron Maiden! Bruce and the band appeared on Friday night’s Top of the Pops to promote the new album and its title track, although was back at the controls of a 737 to take 148 passengers to Alicante on Saturday afternoon!
Balancing demands of BBC radio schedules, Astraeus’ flying programme, Dalek removals and his performing commitments with Iron Maiden can’t be easy, but somehow Bruce manages to fit it all into a busy lifestyle. After all, he’s been known to refer to flying as “the day job” – one that he enjoys immensely – and it’s all part of the change from Rock Star to Fly Star that takes place on a regular basis."
Many thanks to Maniac618 of the official BB for the transcript
9 Comments
many thanks to maniac618 indeed! I wonder how bruce feels about his solo career been called "career break"? 
QUOTE(gor @ Jun 2 2004, 03:08 PM)
many thanks to maniac618 indeed! I wonder how bruce feels about his solo career been called "career break"?
He sure wouldn't be delighted...
QUOTE
life-size Dalek
What's that?????
QUOTE(Battlemaniacs @ Jun 2 2004, 07:16 PM)
What's that?????
If my memory is still fresh, it's a robot present in the 'Dr. Who' TV series. Make a Google search and you might find an image.
Maybe some Who-freak has more info ?
Cheers
He also has a Degree in History 
Very interesting. Even knowing that Bruce is a workaholic is hard to realize how he can do all those things.
Thanks Bravewords !
Cheers
Well, now it's time to thank HardRadio.com !
Cheers
QUOTE(The Saint @ Jun 2 2004, 05:21 PM)
If my memory is still fresh, it's a robot present in the 'Dr. Who' TV series. Make a Google search and you might find an image.
Maybe some Who-freak has more info ?
Cheers
Maybe some Who-freak has more info ?
Cheers
I think there's an article at Scream for me where Bruce is with the Dalek.