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Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson, 56, is taking on pilots and crew after purchasing a Boeing 737

According to Dailymail.co.uk, IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson is set to hit a high note of a different kind as he launches a new commercial airline.

Swapping hard rock for the open skies, the heavy metal legend is taking on pilots and crew after buying a Boeing 737 for his latest venture.

The 56-year-old British rocker’s passion for planes is no secret – he set up Cardiff Aviation as a maintenance company for jets in 2012 and obtained a commercial pilot’s licence after he learned to fly in Florida back in the 1990s.

Dickinson said: ‘The reason I do all the things I do now is because I love them. Life is too short to do the things you don’t love doing. I fly airliners and in my spare time I sing a bit.’

Dickinson said the sky is the limit for his airline, VVB, which is now applying for a licence to operate flights within Europe.

The airline will be headquartered at Cardiff Aviation’s base in St Athan, Vale of Glamorgan, in South Wales, and it has plans to acquire additional planes.

Dickinson and his Iron Maiden bandmates were one of the most popular and influential acts during heavy metal’s heyday, and they continue to sell out stadiums worldwide.

Despite the demands of a rock and roll lifestyle, Dickinson managed to find time to pursue his passion and become a pilot for the now-defunct UK airline Astraeus.

He has been behind the controls on flights carrying his band members, Liverpool FC and Britons who were airlifted out of Lebanon during the Israel/Hezbollah conflict in 2006.

Formed in east London in the 1970s, Iron Maiden are known for hits such as Number of the Beast and Run to the Hills, and they are putting the finishing touches on a new album following Dickinson’s cancer scare.

Doctors recently pronounced the rocker free from cancer almost a year after his illness was discovered during a routine check-up.