Features
Fly Dickinson Airplanes
Bruce Dickinson’s prowess as a pilot is well-documented, but now the Iron Maiden frontman is looking to set up in the flying biz with his new firm, Cardiff Aviation.
Photo: cardiffaviation.com
The business situated on the former Royal Air Force maintenance facility at St. Athan plans to spend a few years building an airline fleet of up to 10 planes.
Having clocked more than 7,000 hours flying time working part time as an airline pilot for British World Airlines and Astraeus Airlines, Dickinson’s also been known to fly the band around the world for gigs.
In 2008, Iron Maiden decorated an Astraeus Boeing Co. in its own branded livery (Ed Force One) and flew it on a world tour.
Dickinson aims to use the former RAF hangar to sell maintenance and repair services to aircraft-leasing companies and airlines, while trying to persuade leasing companies to turn over their old, unused and unloved planes.
He’ll then refurbish them, sublease them, and use his pilots to fly them, to help bolster airlines’ fleets in busy periods, like the summer holidays. “It’s knowing the niches that all these areas occupy and seeing how they fit together,” Dickinson explained at last month’s Farnborough air show.