A man who pilots Boeing 747s for fun is clearly a man with a passion for flying.
When that man is also a founder, investor and chairman of separate successful aeronautics companies he becomes particularly interesting.
When the man in question is Bruce Dickinson, who also happens to be lead singer of Iron Maiden, discovering more about his life ‘in the air’ is going to be fascinating.
The first and perhaps most surprising thing is that Bruce Dickinson only turned to aeronautics quite late in life. According to a 2015 Guardian interview, Bruce was well in to his thirties when he first learned to fly. After fellow band member Nicko McBrain got himself a pilot’s licence, Dickinson decided to try and get one too. Bruce figured that “if a drummer can do it, anyone can”.
Dickinson learned to fly in Florida in the 1990s and then went on to work as a commercial pilot for Astreus Airlines for many years whenever the band was not touring or recording. According to the Daily Mail, Bruce was actually in the cockpit of a 757 flying 250 holidaymakers from Jeddah back to Manchester, when he learnt of the collapse of Astreus in 2011.
Just six months later Dickinson was back in the airline business, but this time as founder and Chairman of Cardiff Aviation Ltd a company providing maintenance, repair and overhaul, aircraft leasing and pilot training services. With Bruce at the helm (or should that be joystick?) it quickly grew into a successful organisation with over 70 employees.
Meanwhile Bruce was flying the whole Iron Maiden organisation to gigs in ‘Ed Force One’ their own 757. He was also looking longingly at smaller aircraft, eventually completing the purchase of a replica Fokker triplane in 2014 which he flew as a member of The Great War Display Team at the Duxford Airshow at the end of that Summer.
It seems that the more that Dickinson did in the air, the more he wanted to achieve. He became an investor in the Airlander project with the aim of helping to bring what is the world’s largest aircraft to market.
His latest foray into a new field of air travel is the most intriguing of all. Bruce is now Vice Chairman at Windhorse Aerospace, a British company on the cutting edge of famine relief technology. The group’s disposable drones are designed to safely deliver food, medicine and other delicate aid supplies to within 10 metres of designated landing points. Since the relief supplies will be arriving by air, the chances of them getting directly to those who need them most are greatly enhanced, ensuring that aid money is used ever more cost effectively.
The noble humanitarian aims are surely part of why Bruce has joined the Windhorse team, but after looking at the rest of his career trajectory it is impossible to deny that he is in part there because the drones they are creating are very cool indeed.
Why Bruce continues to invest his time, money and expertise into his passion for air based projects is something he covers in his speaking engagements that take him to events and conferences across the world. To hear him speak at yours, please call Dave Daniel at Celebrity Speakers on +44 1628 601 411 or email dave@speakers.co.uk.
