Just hours before a sell out Iron Maiden “Book of Souls” show in Toronto on July 15th, Bruce Dickson wasn’t found warming up his vocal chords in a dressing room but was instead soaring over the skies of Hamilton in a WWII Lancaster Bomber. Known for being an aviation buff (as well as holding a keen interest in history), Bruce was invited by the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum to join them as crew for a flight in their prized bomber
Nicknamed Vera, because of its VRA flight initials, the Lancaster Bomber holds a particularly fond place in Bruce’s heart. As museum CEO and pilot David Rohrer told CBC News “The first model airplane he ever built as a young lad was a Lancaster”.
The Lancaster was originally built in Ontario in 1945 and used to train air crews and later for coastal patrols and search and rescue work, before being retired in 1963. Purchased by the Warplane Heritage Museum 1977, Vera is now one of only two left flying in the world. To get her ready to take to the skies again it took a team of volunteers 11 years of restoration.
Bruce spent the best part of his day at the museum discussing aviation and signing autographs for fans, before heading back in time for the concert in a friend’s small Cessna 172. According to Rohrer “He was just unbelievable. So nice. You could really see how much he appreciated the planes”.
As a qualified commercial pilot, Bruce is well versed in taking the controls of big planes and pilots the band and crew around the world on Iron Maiden tours in their private 747 Boeing “Ed Force One”. He also owns a Fokker Dr1 Triplane, a highly manoeuverable WW1 plane favoured by German aces such as Werner Voss and the legendary Manfred von Richthonfen (the Red Baron), which Bruce flies as part of the Great War Display Team. He can even be found training budding pilots in the B747-400 simulators at the MRO and pilot training facilities at his company Cardiff Aviation.
Speaking to Wales Online earlier this year, Bruce described how the thrill of flying compares to that of being live on stage.
“The satisfaction with flying airplanes is getting the job done, but the satisfaction with playing live is external, looking out at all the people looking at you. With an airliner, it’s all internal. If you’ve got passengers, nobody goes, ‘wow, wasn’t that great.’ They’re thinking about the rest of their day. Your job as an airline pilot is to deliver them safely and be invisible.”
Bruce Dickinson travels globally delivering keynote speeches that draw on his experiences as a pilot, aviation entrepreneur and life with the legendary Iron Maiden and compares them to the challenges of operating in the business world. His talks provide creative solutions for winning fans for your brand, building teams and forward planning. To enquire about booking him for your conference or event please contact Dave Daniel at CSA Speakers: dave@speakers.co.uk or +44 1628 601 411.
