Watch BRUCE DICKINSON Sing IRON MAIDEN Classics With Covers Band In ROYAL AIR FORCE Hangar

IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson joined a covers band on stage this past Friday (June 23) at the Royal Air Force base in Brize Norton, Oxfordshire to perform the MAIDEN classics "The Trooper" and "Run To The Hills". Video of his appearance can be seen below. The event was a retirement party for a military aircraft known as the Lockheed C-130 Hercules.

Known as the workhorse of the RAF, the Hercules has been the backbone of U.K. operational tactical mobility tasks since the 1960s, working around the globe on military and humanitarian relief operations.

The Hercules is being replaced by a fleet of 22 Atlas A400Ms, supported by other RAF aircraft.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak paid tribute to personnel and crews of 47 Squadron, who he said have served with "professionalism and distinction throughout" and have his full thanks.

Three years ago, Dickinson was officially attested into the Royal Air Force, the United Kingdom's aerial warfare force. The British singer was awarded the role of Honorary Group Captain.

Bruce has held a commercial pilot's license for more than 20 years.

Dickinson had other connections with the RAF, having completed an emergency landing at RAF Halton in 2015. He was flying his Fokker triplane when it began to run low on fuel.

A year and a half ago, Bruce, who flew his group around the world in their customized jumbo jet dubbed Ed Force One, named after MAIDEN's iconic mascot Eddie, told the Associated Press that he would not be sitting in the pilot's seat when he and his bandmates returned to the road later that year. "You know, when you get to 65, if you're an airline pilot, they just take you out the back and shoot, right?" he said. "So, I'm going to be sitting in the back being the backseat driver."

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO),commercial pilots have to retire at age 65. There is currently no maximum age limit for being a private pilot or for being an Air Force pilot.

Dickinson gained a commercial pilot's license after learning to fly in the 1990s. In 2012 he set up Cardiff Aviation, an aircraft maintenance company which has since changed its name to Caerdav.

Bruce, who spent a few years flying planes for Astraeus Airlines, told CNN in a 2007 interview: "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.'"

Dickinson told Wales Online that he still gets a thrill out of flying, but that it's a totally different sensation to playing live.

"The satisfaction flying airplanes is getting the job done, but the satisfaction with playing live is external, looking out at all the people looking at you," he said. "With an airliner, it's all internal. If you've got passengers, nobody goes, 'Wow! Wasn't that great?' They're thinking about the rest of their day. Your job as an airline pilot is to deliver them safely and be invisible. That's quite nice for me because it's completely the opposite to what I do when I sing."

Image credit: Eddie The Head Fan Club Facebook / video by Brian Davis