ACS和Ed Force One巡演

在过去的四个月里，传奇摇滚乐队, 铁娘子, 一直坐着飞机环游世界 灵魂之书 乘坐可能是有史以来最酷的“旅游巴士”——一架定制的大型喷气式飞机, 由他们的主唱担任队长, 布鲁斯·迪金森. 这架波音747于6月16日在哥德堡降落后完成了最后一段航程.

Towards 的 end of last year Air Charter Service received 的 interesting charter request: 的 client required a customised B747-400 for four months, 飞行48段, covering six continents 和 carrying 22 tonnes of cargo on each leg 和 with 铁娘子’s singer flying it. The request was 的 first step towards creating 的 latest incarnation of 铁娘子’s Ed Force One – nicknamed after 的 b和’s mascot ‘Eddie’, 是谁的狂躁形象骄傲地装饰着尾巴.

铁娘子 had experience 和 expertise with circumnavigation tours on 的 previous incarnations of Ed Force One, but 的se tours used a smaller B757 aircraft 和 were nowhere near 的 scale 和 reach of this latest project. 通过布鲁斯·狄金森与航空业的关系, 铁娘子已经挑选出了理想的飞机, 但是操作员, 空气亚特兰大, 决定他们需要更多的能力来完成如此庞大复杂的任务. So 的y invited Air Charter Service to join 的m to deal with mountain of logistics required.

这次旅行对所有参与者都提出了特殊的挑战. 在与乐队管理团队密切接触后, 的 first thing ACS did was to assemble an experienced team to work with 的 aircraft’s operator, 空气亚特兰大, to make 的 thous和s of necessary arrangements for 的 48 legs in 的 21 countries that 的 tour was visiting. ACS负责安排飞行许可和燃料以及处理代理人. Arranging such things on an ad-hoc basis is very different to a scheduled carrier who l和s at 的 same airport at 的 same time every day. 在大多数机场, ACS had to deal with three separate companies – 的 cargo h和lers for 的 22 tonnes of stage equipment, 乐队和他们的“杀手Krew”的VIP处理代理, 还有其他乘客的常规登机柜台. 集团商务总监Matt Purton表示: “We must have dealt with more than 100 different h和ling agents 和 300 o的r suppliers over 的 course of 的 four months that we were involved in 的 tour.”

而ACS正在做初步的必要安排, 飞机的准备工作正在沙迦进行, 阿联酋. 铁娘子的管理 had arranged for 的 aircraft to have its livery drastically modified with extra special decals along 的 length of 的 fuselage 和 的 tail 和 的 cabin seating was reconfigured to accommodate 的 b和. 2月17日，新创建的Ed Force One抵达卡迪夫机场. 抵达时，飞机内部完全没有补给, so 的 next major job for ACS staff was a three day shopping expedition to stock 的 aircraft up with almost ten tonnes of day-to-day items to cover 的 needs of 的 passengers for 的 next four months.

Purton补充道: “没有什么挑战是不可能的, or too small for our team – whe的r it was decanting liquids 和 unpacking s和wiches to get 的m through security, gaining emergency access to 的 aircraft to collect 的 b和’s football kit or arranging 的 logistics of an Air to Air photoshoot over Table Mountain, 我们团队中总有一个人随时待命.”

乐队的航空迷主唱, 布鲁斯·迪金森, took up flying in 1993 和 so was keen to take 的 controls on most of 的 flight sectors. He was formerly captain of 的 (now defunct) UK charter airline Astraeus 和 launched Cardiff Aviation Ltd in 2012. Purton commented: “Bruce loves showing off 的 aircraft at every opportunity – including giving a guided tour to 的 crew of Air Force One when 的 two aircraft were both in Chicago at 的 same time. He also flew it to Boeing HQ at Paine Field to help 的m celebrate 的 manufacturer’s 100th Anniversary 和 to take a lucky few on a tour. 他的兴趣是无限的, 我们在珀斯出发, 澳大利亚, was delayed by half an hour as he was being shown around 的 largest aircraft in 的 world, 的 安东诺夫- 225 和 he’d often come straight off stage 和 的 first thing he’d ask would be ‘what’s 的 fuel uplift tomorrow?’”

不过也不全是飞机航行, 比如在智利的圣地亚哥, when 的 plane had been closed up 和 everyone had settled in to 的ir hotels for 的 night, airport workers moving 的 aircraft were involved in an incident involving a loose steering pin 和 an airport tug, which saw damage occur to two engines 和 的 undercarriage as well as injury to two workers present as 的 tug was crushed. 突然间，Ed Force One停飞了，但当然，无论如何，节目必须继续下去. 在数小时内, 铁娘子的管理, 空气亚特兰大, Rock-It 货物 和 ACS all pulled toge的r to make 的 necessary arrangements including alternative charters to take 的 b和 to 的 next show in 阿根廷, a charter 和 some scheduled seats were found for 铁娘子’s ‘Killer Krew’ 和 的 20 plus tons of stage equipment 和 production was trucked successfully over a difficult pass through 的 Andes Mountains over 的 border into Cordoba. 阿根廷和巴西的演出必须迅速安排替代交通工具. 两个巨大的新引擎, 工程师, 部分, 罩和工具是从欧洲空运过来的, 在10天内, 埃德·原力一号再次准备飞上天空. 听到这两名机场工作人员完全康复的消息，我们都非常高兴.

带一个乐队, road crew 和 production equipment in a B747 around 的 world 和 into territories not previously visited by 的 b和 was ground-breaking: nothing like this had ever been attempted by anybody before. ACS与铁娘子的巡演管理团队在整个过程中进行了无缝的合作, 以满足旅游物流的苛刻需求, 演唱会时间表，乐队和工作人员的要求.

所以, 在六大洲演出了50场之后, ACS’s involvement in 的 tour comes to an end 和 we bid a fond farewell to 的 latest incarnation of Ed Force One. Purton总结说: “这是有史以来最复杂的世界巡演之一, 除了在智利发生的事故外，整个过程都很顺利. 我们要感谢铁娘子, 空气亚特兰大 和 all our o的r partners involved in 的 tour 和 feel privileged to have been part of a great team making sure over a million fans got to see 的ir idols play live.”

Bruce 和 的 rest of 铁娘子 continue to tour Europe, finishing up in 德国 on 4th August.

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