THE RAF RIFF Iron Maiden frontman Bruce is made an air force captain
IRON Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson, who flies the band on tours, has been made an honorary RAF Group Captain.
The heavy metal legend was enrolled as a member of the 601 (County of London) Squadron this week as a reward for his longterm support of the RAF.
Dickinson, 61 – worth around £90million – trained as a pilot after taking a break from Iron Maiden in the 1990s. He rejoined in 1999, flying his bandmates in Ed Force One – an adapted Boeing 747.
The plane’s livery includes the band’s logo and mascot,
Eddie, painted on the tail.
ALLIANCE
The rocker formed a close alliance with the RAF in 2008, taking the controls of an MoDchartered 747 to bring its pilots home from Afghanistan to RAF Wittering in Cambridgeshire.
And he got even closer when he made an emergency landing at RAF Halton, Bucks, in August 2015 – when his replica First World War Fokker triplane almost ran out of fuel.
With a professional airline licence, Dickinson has flown for BA and easyJet – and also once flew Liverpool FC to Naples for their European Cup match against Napoli in October 2010. His love of flying is reflected in Iron Maiden’s hits. In 18-minute track Empire of the Clouds, he wrote: “Sailors of the sky, a hardened breed, loyal to the king, and an airship creed.”
Iron Maiden have a number of militaryinspired songs. Their 1984 single Aces High pays homage to The Few in the Battle of Britain – the fliers of the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm who defeated the German Luftwaffe as they tried to take control of the skies above Britain in the summer of 1940.
Dickinson is also a keen fencer, once ranked No7 in the UK – and would now be eligible to represent the RAF in official competitions.
An RAF source said: “It’s absolutely fantastic that Bruce has been made an honorary Group Captain. He’s a keen aviator and loves the RAF. He’s a first class bloke. His two big interests outside of music are flying and fencing.”
The 601 (County of London) Squadron is a London-based group of the RAF Reserves, reactivated in 2017 to help shape the RAF’s future with talent from industry and academia.
Other honorary Group Captains include TV’s Carol Vorderman, 59, and six-times Olympic champion cyclist Sir Chris Hoy, 43.
It’s fantastic, he’s a keen aviator and a first class bloke, and he loves the RAF RAF INSIDER ON ROCKER BRUCE’S HONORARY ROLE