EntertainmentIron Maiden: What was the band’s plane like?World Rock Day: See stories from Iron Maiden’s planetoday at 8:30pm

There are many ways to celebrate the World Rock Day, celebrated this Tuesday (13). One is to know the Ed Force One, the famous airplane Iron Maiden.

The heavy metal band, one of the leading bands of its kind, has a curiosity about the plane it travels on during its tours. The name of the plane refers to the mascot of the band, eddieand the US presidential plane, Air Force One.

Bruce Dickinsonthe lead singer of the band, is a professional pilot and flew the aircraft, but the plane was retired in 2022, when Dickinson turned 64 and announced that he would no longer fly the Ed Force One. There were three aircraft over the years: a Boeing 747 and two 757. Ed Force One 747 it is considered the most iconic and imposing among them.

The aircraft, leased from Air Atlanta Icelandic and manufactured in 2003, it had a personalized painting with the band’s name, images of the mascot and names of the cities where the group performed. O Ed Force One it had a range of approximately 13,500 km, which made it possible to reach anywhere in the world with just one stop.

The flight code Ed Force One on tour was CC666, in reference to a famous song by the band, “The Number Of The Beast”. The band produced a mini-documentary about the plane, showing interior and exterior details. Dickinson described the Ed Force One as a “flying poster” and an “incredible machine”.

each generation of Ed Force One had a different fate. The first was leased to Saudi Arabian Airlines and later to Thomas Cook Airlines, being sold to FedEx in 2012. The second plane was stored in Phoenix, in the United States, until it was dismantled and sold as scrap. The third and final plane of the Iron Maiden it was returned to the previous owner in 2016 and, in 2022, it was handed over to Air Salvage to be dismantled and become scrap metal.