Feature Article: Dave McRobb

Heavy Metal Pilot

The Life and Adventures of Dave McRobb

Hello friends, fellow pilots, and aviation enthusiasts. My name is Dave McRobb and I was so graciously asked to write about some of my experiences as a pilot, and the connection to my career in the music business. Not as obvious a connection as one might think.

My journey into the business side of music started back in 1999 as I was embarking on to the next chapter of my life. This new start would include earning my private pilot’s license and a new career in the music industry working with one of my favorite groups: the legendary metal band, Megadeth. An intimidating name perhaps, but with our young and reckless days behind us, we're all a little older and wiser now, and they're a great bunch of guys.

I've had a passion for aviation ever since I can remember. My brother started his flying career at 17, while I went the rock ‘n roll route. Who would have known that while he went on to become a respected captain in the industry, I'd finally come around and pick up my license years later.

I've taken him up in a 172 and can recall when I flew above the Lions peaks along the North Shore Mountains in Vancouver and by The Black Tusk on our way to Whistler. It’s funny: he commented how he, as an airline pilot, would never have come so close to the mountain peaks. We're both from Toronto, and he hadn't been VFR flying in some time. For us, mountain flying on the beautiful west coast lends to some of the most amazing flying experiences. One of my favorite local scenic flights to do with friends is flying to the top and around Mt. Baker. It is absolutely breathtaking up there. In June of 1999, I earned my PPL through the Victoria Flying Club and was presented with the Top Flight Test award at the VFC banquet the following year. I started my new career working with the band, which has continued for the past two decades. It’s a fastpaced lifestyle: working out of my home office year-round, touring the globe, and being an integral part of the team. Back in the early days, before I was touring full-time, I would get excited about being able to fly myself and a buddy or two to their shows and events. The band would always get a kick out of me showing up in one of the club’s 172s.

I recall a time when we once flew into Spokane. It snowed that night, so I arranged to have the plane put in a hangar, safe from the elements. We spent the next couple of days carrying on with a rented car through Washington and Idaho.

All part of making decisions after the unexpected, and all part of the experience!

There was the time I flew a friend and myself down to Portland, OR for one of the shows. It was September 9, 2001. After the show, I had to decide whether to stay stateside for the Seattle show on September 11 or to just head back home and fly over to the Vancouver show on the 12th. We decided to skip the Seattle show and head back to Canada, only to wake up on the morning of the 11th to join the world in disbelief as we watched the two towers fall.

It turned out to be a good thing that I decided to fly the plane back home as I surely would have been grounded for days or even weeks on the other side of the border. The band canceled the Seattle show on September 11, but carried on with the tour afterwards. We all met again at the Vancouver show and celebrated band leader Dave Mustaine’s 40th birthday at the stroke of midnight. All of this the day before he had to be back in San Francisco to record his part of a film with his former band, Metallica.

Travelling with the band is a lot of work and comes with a lot of amazing times and countless stories of the road. The guys and I have joked that I might be their private pilot one day. Personally, this doesn’t sound like such a bad idea. Hey, if vocalist Bruce Dickinson can fly Iron Maiden’s 747 around the world, then why can’t I, right? After all these years I’ve picked up an aerobatic certification through the club, various ratings, plenty of experience with VFR flying, longdistance trips, and I’ve almost completed my CPL training. Perhaps flying a Mega-jet is in the cards! Dream big, right?

Acquiring my PPL has allowed many memorable trips and experiences with friends and family, like when I flew my children to Disneyland for a family holiday. Being able to fly them myself made the journey more personal and is an experience we still talk about to this day. During this trip, I had the small challenge of amending my flight plan over northern California to accommodate a bathroom break for my dear daughter. As a pilot, unexpected changes and decisive action is all part of the experience!

I have so many more stories of flying and travelling with the band, which always seem to both be hand-in-hand, but I’ll wrap this up for now. More than anything, I want to express how much flying has meant to me and how blessed I feel to work with one of the greatest heavy metal bands on the globe. I get to live my two passions: aviation and music. For me, I couldn’t dream of anything better!