Iron Maiden have named their customized 757 that they will be flying around the world in 'Ed Force One'. The name was chosen by a fan known only as Wilson who beat more than 2000 entries into the name the plane competition. On the band's official website, they do admit that pretty much everyone chose the same name, but "Wilson" won for his comment: Timeless, inspirational, continually evolving, but always true to themselves, camaraderie that survives the evil that men do!
In October 2007, Iron Maiden commissioned an Astraeus Airlines 757 as transport for their 'Somewhere Back in Time World Tour' in 2008. Lead singer Bruce Dickinson explained the logic behind the charter in 2007:
"Looking at the list of places we would like to play we have always had problems joining up the dots. With sea containers in various places it slows down the whole touring process, which is fine if you want a holiday but not if you want to play. It's great to see places but we don't want to sit around for a week waiting for gear to get from, say, Australia to South America, so this way we can get to more fans in more places en route in the same time period"
The aircraft, named "Ed Force One" after a competition on the band's website, was flown by Dickinson as he was also a commercial airline pilot for Astraeus. The aeroplane was converted into a combi configuration and repainted with a special Iron Maiden livery, along with a list of that year's tour dates. According to Dickinson, Astraeus decided to retain the Iron Maiden artwork when it returned to normal charter service after receiving positive feedback from customers, but had to remove the decals after passengers in Africa refused to board the plane, claiming it to be possessed by evil spirits.
The decoration was restored a year later as the same aircraft (G-OJIB) was used on the final leg of the Somewhere Back in Time tour in 2009. It plays a major role in the award-winning documentary, Iron Maiden: Flight 666, which was released in cinemas in 42 countries in April 2009 and on DVD and Blu-ray in May and June 2009. The film debuted on British television on 4 March 2010 at 11:00 pm on BBC4 as part of Heavy Metal Britannia Weekend.
"Ed Force One" was used again for "The Final Frontier World Tour" in 2011, although this time with a different aeroplane (G-STRX) and altered livery, adopting the artwork of The Final Frontier.
First edition of Ed Force One
Second edition of Ed Force One
