Iron Maiden’s chartered Boeing 747-400 Ed Force One touched down in Brisbane on Monday afternoon ahead of the heavy metal band’s tour of Australia.
The ex-Air France Boeing 747-400 is chartered from Air Atlanta Icelandic and is carrying the band’s members, support crew and equipment on its ‘The Book of Souls’ world tour. Using the flight number ‘ABD666’, the 747, registered TF-AAK, flew into Brisbane from Auckland. After Brisbane the band – and presumably Ed Force One – is set to tour Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth before heading to South Africa.
Most famously, one of the aircraft’s pilots is band lead vocalist Bruce Dickinson.
The Ed Force One name was first applied to an Astraeus Airlines 757 the band chartered for a world tour in 2008-09. Dickinson was a pilot with Astraeus.
After Astraeus collapsed in 2011 Dickinson established maintenance, repair and overhaul business Cardiff Aviation. He also owns a Fokker Dr.I triplane replica.
