Flying Solo
There is one thing that is certain for a rock and roll super star– you have to travel by plane quite a bit. There’s a magic in the romanticism of flying in private jets all over the globe. It’s almost a solidified relationship. For Pink Floyd’s drummer, Nick Mason, this was something he dreaded for years.
Mason states that he was scared of flying… and that’s exactly why he became an aviation pilot. He says that touring with Pink Floyd obviously required extensive flying all over the world. When he confided with a friend about his fear, the iconic drummer was told to learn how to fly a plane.
Learning To Fly
The rock and roll god has been an airplane pilot for 30 years at this point. He flew fixed wing planes for 12 years before moving on to flying helicopters. He and his band mate, David Gilmour (Pink Floyd front man), both share their devotion to aircrafts. Gilmour actually had his own aviation company, Intrepid Aviation.
Now, Nick Mason ranks flying planes among his favorite hobbies. He even has his own airfield. The space started as an area to house his collection of race cars. Yeah, that’s his other favorite hobby. The place used to be a World War One training field for the Royal Flying Corps.
“It’s a lovely place to keep things because I’ve got two partners at the airfield both of whom run old airplanes. Old cars and old airplanes live very comfortably together,” states Mason about his airfield.
