Along with acting as the vocalist for one of heavy metal's greatest bands, Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson is an accomplished pilot. The man could probably kick some ass in a fighter jet ala 'Aces High,' but Dickinson instead chose to pilot commercial aircrafts, including Maiden's own Flight 666 jet. Dickinson recently started his own aircraft maintenance business, Cardiff Aviation Limited, and the singer has just secured a near $8 million investment to help his company soar to new heights.

According to WalesOnline, Dickinson secured £5 million (roughly $7.68 million) from a number of parties to kickstart Cardiff Aviation. Approximately one third of the sum was ponied up by Finance Wales, the U.K. SME investment company and the Welsh government, while the remaining sum came from private investors, including Bruce Dickinson himself and business partner Mario Fulgoni. The money is planned to go toward's the company's senior management team and allowing the business to build on the many maintenance and operation approvals already acquired by Cardiff Aviation.

“The Welsh Government has played a fantastic role in a difficult economic environment in providing tremendous support and enthusiasm," says the Iron Maiden leader. "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."

He continues, "As for Cardiff Aviation, the first key role we plan to fill is that of commercial director. We will follow up with expansion of the operational and technical teams to address our current growth trend and increasingly lucrative contracts with both UK and international aviation businesses. We also plan to invest in more engineering equipment to supplement and enhance the already excellent technical capability at Cardiff Aviation.”

Iron Maiden are set to spread the metal gospel through a string European dates this summer along with a handful of U.S. and South American dates in the fall. Check out the full list of shows here.

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