Despite knowing about the plan for months, guitarist Ian says that reality only hit him after he watched a video of Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson landing Ed Force One in Florida.

Ian tells TeamRock: "We're actually flying on a Boeing 747 that says Iron Maiden on the side � with Iron Maiden. I finally understand what I've been doing all this time. It's all been leading up to this. I saw Maiden support Priest on the Killers tour in 1981 in New York, and 35 years later I'm flying on a jet with them."

Ian's looking forward to playing in front of 75,000 people in Santiago, Chile, in March, but says seeing Iron Maiden perform will be an amazing experience.

He adds: "I've always wanted to do that as a fan, see Maiden in South America. Ask any band where their best gig is, and they'll say Chile, Argentina or Brazil. It's so insane down there.