QuickCheck: Did Iron Maiden's lead singer fly Air Force personnel home from Afghanistan?

The heavy metal band Iron Maiden is known for its share of aviation-themed songs such as Aces High, Empire Of The Clouds and Death or Glory, as well as having flown around the world on a Boeing 747 dubbed "Ed Force One" while on tour - with its frontman Bruce Dickinson in the captain's chair.

Because of this, it has been claimed that Dickinson once took time off from being a rock star to fly an airliner chartered by Britain's Ministry of Defence on a job to bring Royal Air Force personnel back to the UK from their service in Afghanistan.