1.
Iceland
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Iceland is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean. It has a population of 332,529 and an area of 103,000 km2, the capital and largest city is Reykjavík. Reykjavík and the areas in the southwest of the country are home to over two-thirds of the population. Iceland is volcanically and geologically active, the interior consists of a plateau characterised by sand and lava fields, mountains and glaciers, while many glacial rivers flow to the sea through the lowlands. Iceland is warmed by the Gulf Stream and has a climate, despite a high latitude just outside the Arctic Circle. Its high latitude and marine influence still keeps summers chilly, with most of the archipelago having a tundra climate. According to the ancient manuscript Landnámabók, the settlement of Iceland began in the year 874 AD when the Norwegian chieftain Ingólfr Arnarson became the first permanent settler on the island. In the following centuries, Norwegians, and to a lesser extent other Scandinavians, emigrated to Iceland, the island was governed as an independent commonwealth under the Althing, one of the worlds oldest functioning legislative assemblies. Following a period of strife, Iceland acceded to Norwegian rule in the 13th century. The establishment of the Kalmar Union in 1397 united the kingdoms of Norway, Denmark, Iceland thus followed Norways integration to that Union and came under Danish rule after Swedens secession from that union in 1523. In the wake of the French revolution and the Napoleonic wars, Icelands struggle for independence took form and culminated in independence in 1918, until the 20th century, Iceland relied largely on subsistence fishing and agriculture, and was among the poorest in Europe. Industrialisation of the fisheries and Marshall Plan aid following World War II brought prosperity, in 1994, it became a part of the European Economic Area, which further diversified the economy into sectors such as finance, biotechnology, and manufacturing. Iceland has an economy with relatively low taxes compared to other OECD countries. It maintains a Nordic social welfare system that provides health care. Iceland ranks high in economic, political and social stability and equality, in 2013, it was ranked as the 13th most-developed country in the world by the United Nations Human Development Index. Iceland runs almost completely on renewable energy, some bankers were jailed, and the economy has made a significant recovery, in large part due to a surge in tourism. Icelandic culture is founded upon the nations Scandinavian heritage, most Icelanders are descendants of Germanic and Gaelic settlers. Icelandic, a North Germanic language, is descended from Old Norse and is related to Faroese
2.
Douglas DC-3
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The Douglas DC-3 is a fixed-wing propeller-driven airliner. Its cruise speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s and its lasting effect on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made. The DC-3 was a twin-engine metal monoplane, developed as a larger and it had many exceptional qualities compared to previous aircraft. It was fast, had a range and could operate from short runways. It was reliable and easy to maintain and carried passengers in greater comfort, before the war it pioneered many air travel routes. Civil DC-3 production ended in 1942 with 607 aircraft being produced, however, together with its military derivative, the C-47 Skytrain, and with Russian- and Japanese-built versions, over 16,000 were built. Following the Second World War, the market was flooded with surplus C-47s and other transport aircraft. While the DC-3 was soon made redundant on main routes by more advanced such as the Douglas DC-6 and Lockheed Constellation. Large numbers continue to see service in a variety of niche roles well into the 21st century. In 2013 it was estimated that approximately 2,000 DC-3s and military derivatives were still flying, the DC-3 was the culmination of a development effort that began after an inquiry from Transcontinental and Western Airlines to Donald Douglas. TWA asked Douglas to design and build an aircraft that would allow TWA to compete with United, Douglas design, the 1933 DC-1, was promising, and led to the DC-2 in 1934. The DC-2 was a success, but there was room for improvement, Douglas agreed to go ahead with development only after Smith informed him of Americans intention to purchase twenty aircraft. The new aircraft was engineered by a led by chief engineer Arthur E. Raymond over the next two years, and the prototype DST first flew on December 17,1935. Its cabin was 92 in wide, and a version with 21 seats instead of the 14–16 sleeping berths of the DST was given the designation DC-3, there was no prototype DC-3, the first DC-3 built followed seven DSTs off the production line and was delivered to American Airlines. The DC-3 and DST popularized air travel in the United States, eastbound transcontinental flights could cross the U. S. in about 15 hours with three refueling stops, westbound trips against the wind took 17 1⁄2 hours. A few years such a trip entailed short hops in slower and shorter-range aircraft during the day. A variety of engines were available for the DC-3. Early-production civilian aircraft used Wright R-1820 Cyclone 9s, but later used the Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp
3.
Aircraft registration
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In accordance with the Convention on International Civil Aviation, all civil aircraft must be registered with a national aviation authority using procedures set by each country. Every country, even those not party to the Chicago Convention, has a NAA whose functions include the registration of civil aircraft, an aircraft can only be registered once, in the one jurisdiction. The registration identifier must be displayed prominently on the aircraft, most countries also require the registration identifier to be imprinted on a permanent fireproof plate mounted on the fuselage in case of a post-fire/post-crash aircraft accident investigation. Military aircraft typically use tail codes and serial numbers, although each aircraft registration identifier is unique, some countries allow it to be re-used when the aircraft has been sold, destroyed or retired. For example, N3794N is assigned to a Mooney M20F and it had been previously assigned to a Beechcraft Bonanza. Also note that an aircraft may be assigned different registrations during its existence. This can be because the aircraft ownership, jurisdiction of registration. The first use of aircraft registrations was based on the radio callsigns allocated at the London International Radiotelegraphic Conference in 1913, the format was a single letter prefix followed by four other letters. The major nations operating aircraft were allocated a letter prefix. Smaller countries had to share a single letter prefix, but were allocated exclusive use of the first letter of the suffix and this was modified by agreement by the International Bureau at Berne and published on April 23,1913. The agreement stipulated that the nationality marks were to be followed by a then a group of four letters that must include a vowel. This system operated until the adoption of the system in 1928. The International Radiotelegraph Convention at Washington in 1927 revised the list of markings and these were adopted from 1928 and are the basis of the currently used registrations. The markings have been amended and added to over the years, upon registration, the aircraft receives its unique registration, which must be displayed prominently on the aircraft. Annex 7 to the Chicago Convention describes the definitions, location, the aircraft registration is made up of a prefix selected from the countrys callsign prefix allocated by the International Telecommunication Union and the registration suffix. Depending on the country of registration, this suffix is a numeric or alphanumeric code, a supplement to Annex 7 provides an updated list of approved nationality and common marks used by various countries. When painted on the fuselage, the prefix and suffix are usually separated by a dash, when entered in a flight plan, the dash is omitted. In some countries use a number suffix rather than letters, like the United States, South Korea, and Japan
4.
Akureyri
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Akureyri is a small city in northern Iceland. It is Icelands second largest urban area and fourth largest municipality, nicknamed the Capital of North Iceland, Akureyri is an important port and fishing centre. The area where Akureyri is located was settled in the 9th century, the town was the site of Allied units during World War II. Further growth occurred after the war as the Icelandic population increasingly moved to urban areas, the area has a relatively mild climate due to geographical factors, and the towns ice-free harbour has played a significant role in its history. The Norse Viking Helgi magri Eyvindarson originally settled the area in the 9th century, the first mention of Akureyri is in court records from 1562 when a woman was sentenced there for adultery. In the 17th century, Danish merchants based their camps at the current site of Akureyri, the main reasons for choosing this spot for trading operations were the outstanding natural harbour and the fertility of the area. The merchants did not live at Akureyri year-round but returned home in the winter, permanent settlement at Akureyri started in 1778, and eight years later, the town was granted its municipal charter by the king of Denmark along with five other towns in Iceland. The king hoped to improve the conditions of Icelanders by this action because at the time. As far as the king was concerned Akureyri was unsuccessful, because it did not grow from its population of 12 and it lost its municipal status in 1836 but regained it in 1862. From then on Akureyri started to grow because of the excellent port conditions, agricultural products became an important sector of the economy. During World War II, Akureyri was one of three air bases used by the Norwegian-British No.330 Squadron RNoAF. The squadron, which was formed on 25 April 1941, flew Northrop N-3PB bombers, A flight was based at Reykjavík, B flight at Akureyri and C flight at Budareyri. On 1 December 1940, A and B flights ceased operating from Norwegian bases, No.330 Squadron RNoAF also operated Catalina flying boats from Akureyri, which protected convoys from the United States to the United Kingdom and Murmansk from attack by German submarines. In the 20th century, Iceland experienced an exodus from the countryside to the towns, commerce and service industries grew to be the primary employers in Akureyri in the 1990s. Jón Sveinsson, a author of childrens books, was born in Akureyri. The University of Akureyri was founded in 1987 and is growing rapidly, since 2004, the former municipality of Hrísey, an island 35 kilometres to the north, has been a part of Akureyri. Hrísey, which has a population of 210, is the second largest island off Iceland and is a site for pet, the settlement was previously the site of fishing processing. The town is located on the part of the island
5.
Icelandair
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Icelandair is the main airline of Iceland, headquartered at Reykjavík Airport in Reykjavík. The geographical position of Iceland allows one-stop transatlantic flights, which are one pillar of the business strategy, along with traffic to. Icelandair traces its roots back to 1937, when Flugfélag Akureyrar was founded in Akureyri on the north coast of Iceland, Flight operations started in 1938 with a single floatplane of the type Waco YKS-7. In 1939 the airline was grounded when this aircraft was destroyed in a capsizing accident, the company moved to Reykjavík, where it acquired another Waco aircraft and was re-launched in 1940 as Flugfélag Íslands, which translates as Flight Company of Iceland. Previously, two unrelated airlines of the name had existed in the country. For international purposes, the name Iceland Airways was adopted, regular flights to Prestwick Airport in Scotland and Copenhagen in Denmark, using Consolidated B-24 Liberator aircraft leased from Scottish Airlines were launched in 1946. In the same year, comfort and performance of flights in Iceland could be improved with the introduction of the Douglas DC-3. A total of six airliners of that type had been purchased, which remained in service with the airline until 1972, until the late 1960s, Flugfélag concentrated mostly on domestic flights, where it initially faced fierce competition from Loftleiðir, another airline which had been founded in 1944. When a merger proposal of the Icelandic government was rejected by the two airlines, the routes were split among them as a measure to ease competition. When Loftleiðir pulled out of the market in 1952 to fully concentrate on international flights. International services stayed part of the model of Flugfélag, though to a far lesser extent compared to Loftleiðir. In 1948, the Douglas C-54 Skymaster was introduced on those routes, in the 1950s, Flugfélag began to use the Icelandair branding for its international flights. In 1967, Flugfélag was the first Icelandic airline to join the jet age, another 727 was acquired in 1971, and the aircraft type was operated until 1990. In 2008, the section of the Gullfaxi was put on display at the Akureyri Aviation Museum. Another company called Loftleiðir had been formed in 1944 by three young pilots returning from their training in Canada. Their company, whose name roughly means Skyways, concentrated on Icelandic domestic air services for the first few years, the first aircraft used were two Stinson Reliants, and then a Grumman Goose amphibious aircraft. At first, Loftleiðir, like Flugfélag Íslands, concentrated on air services. Loftleiðir began scheduled operations in 1947
6.
Fjord
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Geologically, a fjord or fiord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by glacial erosion. Norways coastline is estimated at 29,000 kilometres with 1,190 fjords, a fjord is formed when a glacier cuts a U-shaped valley by ice segregation and abrasion of the surrounding bedrock. Glacial melting is accompanied by the rebounding of Earths crust as the ice load, in some cases this rebound is faster than sea level rise. Most fjords are deeper than the adjacent sea, Sognefjord, Norway, fjords generally have a sill or shoal at their mouth caused by the previous glaciers reduced erosion rate and terminal moraine. In many cases this causes extreme currents and large saltwater rapids. Saltstraumen in Norway is often described as the worlds strongest tidal current and these characteristics distinguish fjords from rias, which are drowned valleys flooded by the rising sea. Drammensfjorden is cut almost in two by the Svelvik ridge, a moraine that during the ice cover was under sea level. During the winter there is usually little inflow of freshwater. Surface water and deeper water are mixed during winter because of the cooling of the surface. In the deep there is still fresh water from the summer with less density than the saltier water along the coast. Offshore wind, common in the areas during winter, sets up a current on the surface from the inner to the outer parts. This current on the surface in turn pulls dense salt water from the coast across the fjord threshold, during the summer season there is usually a large inflow of river water in the inner areas. This freshwater gets mixed with saltwater creating a layer of water with a slightly higher surface than the ocean which in turn sets up a current from the river mouths towards the ocean. This current is more salty towards the coast and right under the surface current there is a reverse current of saltier water from the coast. In the deeper parts of the fjord the cold water remaining from winter is still, fjords with a shallow threshold this deep water is not replaced every year and low oxygen concentration makes the deep water unsuitable for fish and animals. In the most extreme cases there is a constant barrier of freshwater on the surface, gaupnefjorden branch of Sognefjorden is strongly affected by freshwater as glacial river flow in. Velfjorden has little inflow of freshwater, as late as 2000, some coral reefs were discovered along the bottoms of the Norwegian fjords. These reefs were found in fjords from the north of Norway to the south, the marine life on the reefs is believed to be one of the most important reasons why the Norwegian coastline is such a generous fishing ground
7.
Douglas C-47 Skytrain
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The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II, the specialized C-53 Skytrooper troop transport started production in October 1941 at Douglas Aircrafts Santa Monica, California plant. It lacked the cargo door, hoist attachment and reinforced floor of the C-47, only a total of 380 aircraft were produced in all because the C-47 was found to be more versatile. During World War II, the forces of many countries used the C-47 and modified DC-3s for the transport of troops, cargo. The U. S. Naval designation was R4D, more than 10,000 aircraft were produced in Long Beach and Santa Monica, California and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Between March 1943 and August 1945 the Oklahoma City plant produced 5,354 C-47s, additionally, C-47s were used to airlift supplies to the embattled American forces during the Battle of Bastogne. Possibly its most influential role in aviation, however, was flying The Hump from India into China. The expertise gained flying The Hump was later be used in the Berlin Airlift, in which the C-47 played a major role, until the aircraft were replaced by Douglas C-54 Skymasters. A C-47 flown by the China National Airways Corporation pilot Moon Chin, Moon Chin was tasked with flying from Chungking to Myitkyina, a military base in Burma. His aircraft was jumped by Japanese fighters and, after landing at a small airstrip to wait for his pursuers to give up the game. When Chins DC-3 arrived at Myitkyina, he found that the base had, indeed, been severely bombed by the Japanese, eventually, Chin would carry sixty-eight passengers and a crew of four on the final leg to India. After arriving in India, the tattered American approached Captain Chin, believe me, Chin, he began, if I had had any idea that you were going to jam that many people into this old crate I would have gone home the way I came. Chin inquired as to how that might have been and the American replied I flew in, the short, balding, bedraggled American was none other than Lt Col Jimmy Doolittle returning from the historic raid on Tokyo. In Europe, the C-47 and a specialised paratroop variant, the C-53 Skytrooper, were used in vast numbers in the stages of the war, particularly to tow gliders. During the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, C-47s dropped 4,381 Allied paratroops, more than 50,000 paratroops were dropped by C-47s during the first few days of the invasion of Normandy, France, in June 1944. In the Pacific War, with use of the island landing strips of the Pacific Ocean. About 2,000 C-47s in British and Commonwealth service took the name Dakota, the C-47 also earned the informal nickname gooney bird in the European theatre of operations. The United States Air Forces Strategic Air Command had Skytrains in service from 1946 through 1967, the US Air Forces 6th Special Operations Squadron was flying the C-47 until 2008
8.
Celtic cross
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The Celtic cross is a form of Christian cross featuring a nimbus or ring that emerged in Ireland and Britain in the Early Middle Ages. A staple of Insular art, the Celtic cross is essentially a Latin cross with a nimbus surrounding the intersection of the arms, scholars have debated its exact origins, but it is related to earlier crosses featuring rings. The form gained new popularity during the Celtic Revival of the 19th century, the shape, usually decorated with interlace and other motifs from Insular art, became popular for funerary monuments and other uses, and has remained so, spreading well beyond Ireland. Ringed crosses similar to older Continental forms appeared in Ireland and Scotland in incised stone slab artwork, however, the shape achieved its greatest popularity by its use in the monumental stone high crosses, a distinctive and widespread form of Insular art. These monuments, which first appeared in the 9th century, usually take the form of a cross on a stepped or pyramidal base. The form has obvious advantages, reducing the length of unsupported side arms. There are a number of theories as to its origin in Ireland, some scholars consider the ring a holdover from earlier wooden crosses, which may have required struts to support the crossarm. Others have seen it as deriving from indigenous Bronze Age art featuring a wheel or disc around a head, however, Michael W. Herren, Shirley Ann Brown, and others believe it originates in earlier ringed crosses in Christian art. Crosses with a representing the celestial sphere developed from the writings of the Church Fathers. The cosmological cross is an important motif in Coelius Seduliuss poem Carmen Paschale and it is not clear where the first high crosses originated. The first examples date to the about the 9th century and occur in two groups, at Ahenny in Ireland, and at Iona, an Irish monastery off the Scottish coast, the Ahenny group is generally earlier. A variety of crosses bear inscriptions in ogham, an early medieval Irish alphabet, standing crosses in Ireland and areas under Irish influence tend to be shorter and more massive than their Anglo-Saxon equivalents, which have mostly lost their headpieces. Surviving, free-standing crosses are located in Cornwall, including St Pirans cross at Perranporth, Most examples in Britain were destroyed during the Protestant Reformation. By about A. D.1200 the initial wave of building came to an end in Ireland. Popular legend in Ireland says that the Christian cross was introduced by Saint Patrick or possibly Saint Declan and it has often been claimed that Patrick combined the symbol of Christianity with the sun cross to give pagan followers an idea of the importance of the cross. By linking it with the idea of the properties of the sun. Other interpretations claim that placing the cross on top of the circle represents Christs supremacy over the pagan sun, martins Cross at Iona Abbey The Celtic Revival of the mid-19th century led to an increased use and creation of Celtic crosses in Ireland. In 1853, casts of several high crosses were exhibited at the Dublin Industrial Exhibition
9.
Air Iceland Connect
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Air Iceland is a regional airline with its head office at Reykjavík Airport in Reykjavík, Iceland. It operates scheduled services to destinations across Iceland and to Greenland. Its main bases are Reykjavík Airport and Akureyri Airport and it is a subsidiary of Icelandair Group. The airline was formed in Akureyri by Tryggvi Helgason as Norðurflug, a reorganisation and merger of Icelandair Domestic and Norlandair resulted in the present name in 1997. It is wholly owned by Icelandair Group and had 226 employees in March 2007, in late 2011, Air Iceland acquired two Bombardier Dash 8-200 aircraft for delivery in early 2012. Upon delivery of aircraft, Air Iceland sold its only Dash 8-100 series. It previously operated ATR42 aircraft from 2000 to 2003, a fleet of 3 Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 aircraft replaced the airlines 5 Fokker 50 aircraft in 2015-16. Services using the new aircraft include a route to Aberdeen on behalf of Icelandair started in March 2016 flying out of KEF. As of May 2016, the Air Iceland fleet consisted of the aircraft, Among the destinations, most in Greenland. Dash 8-200 is the aircraft type possessed by Air Iceland compatible with such runways. The Q400s are currently used on flights to Akureyri, Egilsstaðir, Kangerlussuaq, Narsarsuaq, on 29 May 1947, an Air Iceland Douglas C-47A TF-ISI crashed at Héðinsfjörður, Iceland in bad weather, killing all 25 on board. This was the worst air accident in Icelandic history, on 4 March 2011, a Dash 8 TF-JMB was landing at the Nuuk Airport it was hit by a microburst and the right wheel broke off causing the aircraft to slide off the runway. All 31 people on board were unharmed, however, the aircraft was written off. Media related to Air Iceland at Wikimedia Commons Official website
