Aviationtag, a German company known for repurposing retired aircraft, has created a special limited-edition series of tags made from the fuselage of Ed Force One, the plane that carried Iron Maiden during their 2016 “The Book Of Souls” world tour.
The aircraft’s tail fin once displayed an image of Eddie, Iron Maiden’s famous zombie-like mascot. However, the plane has now been dismantled and given a new purpose.
Each tag, designed as a keychain or collectible, is crafted from the aircraft’s white fuselage.
“To create color variations, we also incorporated material from the blue tail fin, which had up to nine layers of paint applied over time,” Aviationtag’s chief commercial officer Tobia Richter told CNN.
Measuring approximately 1.5 by 3.5 inches (35 by 88 millimeters), the tags are available for purchase at €66.66 (around $73) on Aviationtag’s website. The price is a direct nod to “666” and IRON MAIDEN’s song “The Number of the Beast“.
A Boeing 747-400 is 71 meters (230 feet) long, meaning Ed Force One could, in theory, provide up to 100,000 tags, according to Richter. However, the company plans to keep production limited.
Since 2006, Aviationtag has been turning aviation materials into collectible items, working with everything from commercial aircraft like the Airbus A380 to military planes such as the DC-3.
“We want to keep offering our fans and collectors new aircraft from different airlines, rather than making massive editions from just one plane,” said Richter. “That’s why we prefer smaller, exclusive editions from a wider variety of aircraft, ensuring each tag remains truly special.”
Regarding Ed Force One, Richter added: “In some areas, we even discovered gold-colored paint beneath the layers, adding an extra touch of uniqueness to this edition,” mentioning that the gold versions will be released at a later date.
The process of producing these tags takes several weeks. “After cutting the panels, we move on to cutting them into strips, punching, deburring, cleaning, laser engraving the front, engraving the back, cleaning again, attaching the ring and chain, and finally mounting the tag on the cardboard,” Richter explained.
Originally delivered to Air France in 2003 with the registration F-GITH, the aircraft later flew for Air Atlanta Icelandic in 2015 as TF-AAK and briefly operated with Saudi Arabia Airlines before being retired in 2022. It was dismantled at Cotswold Airport in the UK in 2024.
Bruce Dickinson, Iron Maiden’s lead singer and a certified pilot, personally flew Ed Force One. He shared in a press release: “She always behaved like the Queen of the Skies that the 747 will always be. There will never be another to occupy her throne. The power, the noise of those 4 engines, the featherlight touchdowns (not my fault — blame good design) and her airborne elegance put the 747 in a unique category.”
A newly released video highlighting the product launch can be viewed below. Additionally, an exclusive in-depth interview with Dickinson is featured in a booklet, included as a special supplement with every Ed Force One Aviationtag.
