IRON MAIDEN Singer: If A Drummer Can Learn To Fly A Plane Then Anyone Can

IRON MAIDEN frontman Bruce Dickinson was recently interviewed by CNN.com about his career as a commercial airline pilot with Astraeus Airlines. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

On how be got into flying:

"Aviation's been kicking around my family for as long as I can remember; my uncle was in the RAF. But I always thought I was too stupid. I was useless at maths and majored in history at university, so I thought history majors don't become pilots, let alone rock stars. And then our drummer learned to fly so I said if a drummer can learn to fly then anyone can."

"I never dreamed I would end up flying an airliner. I ended up flying IRON MAIDEN around on tour in a little eight-seat, pressurized, twin-engine plane. Basically we were flying round all the world's major airports, flew across the Atlantic and back, which was quite an adventure. At the end I thought I really want to fly something bigger, but I can't afford it — I can't buy my own 707. If I'm going to do that I have to get a job."

On how the thrill of piloting a 757 compares to taking to the stage with MAIDEN:

"It's a different kind of buzz. Obviously you aren't leaping around the flight deck yelling and screaming, but you have to manage situations... Flying at 35,000 feet is an internal thing, really. Whereas 35,000 people, that's just showing off."

On whether he will be hanging up his leopard-skin spandex forever:

"I could never contemplate giving up music. I have to say I've always been interested in planes, the only difference is I started to fly the darn things 15 years ago. I don't see why I should give up either of them. People say 'Why do you need a second job?' I say 'Why do you need to breathe?'"