Bellascarta

From somewhere back in time to the Final Frontier

on BoArD
An exclusive behind the scenes photo documentary by official band photographer JoHn McMurtrie

Foreword by Bruce Dickinson

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The newly decorated tail fin of Ed Force One pokes out of a busy hangar on an airfield in Hampshire. Inside, the Boeing 757 is being inspected by Bruce as the modifications are completed. Trucks arrive for a dry run of loading and unloading the plane.

Flight cases are stacked up on pallets and a single fork-lift truck begins the slow process of loading the cargo bays. After several hours of careful manoeuvring, 12 tonnes of equipment has been loaded. It fits! It will be another month before Ed Force One is finally ready for its maiden voyage.

Will the elaborate stage set, all of Iron Maiden’s instruments plus the complex sound equipment, fit in the customized plane?

On a cold Christmas Eve in 2007 Ed Force One leaves the hangar and takes off for Gatwick Airport, England. The aircraft now has to be approved for transit by the European aviation authorities.

FT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA. 2nd APRIL 2009

GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN. 26th JULY 2008

TORONTO, CANADA. 16th MARCH 2008

SAO PAULO, BRAZIL. 17th MARCH 2009

MOSCOW, RUSSIA. 11th FEBRUARY 2011

SAO PAULO, BRAZIL. 26th MARCH 2011

DENvER, COLORADO. 14th JUNE 2010

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA. 23 FEBRUARY 2011

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The Ed Force One flight crew are told on approach to Belem that there are massive crowds forming at the airport and security are beginning to voice their concerns. As the excitement gathers in the terminal, military police hastily escort the band directly out of the airport and on to the busy roads of Belem. Flanked by several police outriders, the Maiden cavalcade is soon