Bruce Inaugurates New Air Route
Jet set lifestyle – Rock star at controls for holiday flightROCK singer Bruce Dickinson – who regularly exchanges his high-flying music career with heavy metal legends Iron Maiden for an aircraft cockpit – was at the controls of a Boeing 737 on the first flight from Humberside Airport to Malaga yesterday.
Dave Mark
The singer, who this summer will headline the Leeds Festival at Bramham Park with the band, is a fully-qualified pilot who works nine months of the year for London-Gatwick-based Astraeus Airlines, which yesterday began regular flights from Humberside.
In full uniform and with close-cropped hair, his new lifestyle is a far cry from his alter-ego, belting out hits like Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter.
An airline spokesman said: "He's on the rota and he is treated no differently to the rest of the pilots. He's been known to arrange his recording and performing schedule around which flights he's working."
The 46-year-old rocker is also an author and radio DJ.
The flight was also special for Hull-born Astraeus pilot Mike Newby, who realised his childhood dream of flying out of his home airport.
Mr Newby, 24, said: "My parents moved abroad when I was four, and ever since that first flight I've wanted to be involved with flying.
"I just became more and more passionate about flying out of Humberside. I did the maths and worked out that my thousandth flight would be on May 1, 2005 – when I discovered that was also the day of Astraeus' inaugural flight out of Humberside I just had to be on it."
02 May 2005
Source: YorkshireToday.co.uk
2 Comments
isn't that Mike Newby's 1000th flight?
Thanks Maidenfreak. Read everything quickly this morning and didn't realize the quotes were from two different people.
I've corrected the title. Ahem 
Cheers