Qualified 757 Pilot Co-Founded Aircraft Maintenance And Flight Training Company Last Year

To look at Bruce Dickenson today, you might find it hard to believe he is still the lead singer for the metal band Iron Maiden. With close-cropped hair and a dark suit, he looks every inch the businessman.

That's because he is. Dickenson last year became one of the co-founders of Cardiff Aviation Limited, an aircraft maintenance and flight training company in the U.K.

The company was launched in mid-2012 by Dickinson, who is himself a 7,000 hour Boeing 757 pilot, and Mario Fulgoni, a seasoned senior aviation manager and former airline captain. It has 132,000 square feet of hangar space capable of accommodating aircraft up to the size of a Boeing 767-300, and parking for up to 20 narrow bodied commercial airliners. St Athan has a 6,000 ft runway.

And he's still touring with the band.

The company said in a news release that it has recently received an investment of £5 million (€5.9m/$8.1m). Finance Wales, the leading UK SME investment company and Welsh Government subsidiary, has invested £1.6 million (€1.88m/$2.5m), while the remainder will be provided or facilitated by private or privately-owned investors including Dickinson and Fulgoni.
 
Cardiff Aviation’s Twin Peaks HQ is part of the Welsh Government’s St Athan-Cardiff Airport Enterprise Zone, and already home to some of the world’s biggest aerospace and defence companies.
 
“This is a key investment which will allow us to expand the senior management team, and enable us to establish European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Part 21 Design Approval to join the list of maintenance and operational approvals and certification we already possess,” said Mario Fulgoni, joint chief executive of Cardiff Aviation.

“This means Cardiff Aviation Limited will be permitted to manufacture and certify aircraft parts alongside our maintenance and training operations, thereby providing us with a full opportunity to exploit the range of technical equipment and expertise we acquired in taking over Twin Peaks from the RAF, and in establishing Cardiff Aviation.”

“The Welsh Government has played a fantastic role in a difficult economic environment in providing tremendous support and enthusiasm," said Dickenson, who is currently on tour with the band in Europe. "Finance Wales’ long-term backing is the fuel not just to put St Athan on the map, but has the potential to create a consequentially much wider impact across the entire South Wales aerospace industry."

(Image from Cardiff Aviation YouTube video)

FMI: http://cardiffaviation.com