Iron Maiden Take to the Sky in Custom Plane

We never thought we'd say this but add one more item to the list of things that Iron Maiden and the Spice Girls have in common: jet-setting in personalized planes. The heavy metal Brits will take to the sky in the as-yet-unnamed Iron Maiden plane for their 2008 world tour, with frontman and licensed flyer Bruce Dickinson piloting the jet.

The band and their 60-member crew will travel on a souped-up Astraeus Boeing 757, replete with the Iron Maiden logo and the band's mascot, Eddie. "It's pretty complex but in the end we were able, with a lot of help from Astraeus Airlines, to overcome all the technicalities of customizing the plane for our purposes," Dickinson said. "By taking band, personnel and equipment in one form of transport it makes all the touring so much easier and overcomes the logistical difficulty of people and equipment going in different places. And it allows me to combine two of my greatest passions, music and flying."