European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 25, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Pages the stars and stripes Friday april 25, 1986 Iceland s strategic location keeps forces Busy by Dave Diehl staff writer Kef Lavik Nas Iceland Iceland s location not Only has Given it a bad reputation for weather but has also made it of strategic importance to nato. Kcf Lavik Nas is on the Southern Peninsula of Iceland about 32 Miles from the country s largest City Reykjavik. It s the Home of the 3,200-member Iceland defense Force which since 1951 has been operated by the United states. The Airfield also serves As the country s Only major International Airport which Means civilians Are free to come and go on the base anytime an irritant to military officials because of the potential Security problems. The . Navy keeps p-3c Orion submarine Chaser aircraft at the air station while the air Force flies the e 3a sentry airborne warning and control system aircraft and a Squadron off a 5cs for air defense. The air Force also flies Kc-135 Aerial refuelling tankers from the base to support the Al 5s and e-3s. An aerospace Rescue and recovery Squadron also uses Kef Lavik As a Home base. In what is described As a unique geographical Loca Tion Iceland sits about Halfway Between new York and Moscow. More importantly it sits smack in the Middle of a strategic Highway frequented by Warsaw pact naval vessels and aircraft coming from Northern ports and head one of the air Force s f-l5s at Kef Lavik Nas Iceland is parked outside a hangar. Is photo by Dave Diehl ing South for places like Cuba. That traffic keeps the defense Force Busy. The f-l5s at Kef Lavik scramble several times a week to intercept unidentified aircraft within Iceland s military air defense zone. About 95 percent of their 140 intercepts a year Are soviet air planes. Most of those Are Tu-95 bears the soviet Long Range bomber. The base would also serve As a Midway Point for troop reinforcement in the event of a War in Central Europe. Air planes coming from the United states could use the Island As a refuelling Point As they did in world War ii. The sea lanes there need to remain open for the same reasons. Nato Iceland and the americans based Here have a keen sense of their importance at Kef Lavik. They take that responsibility seriously. Could be worse meteor fog of says about be and s moderate climates a photo by Dave Diehl it. Diane Crittenden wind chill is the catch by Dave Diehl staff writer Kef Lavik Nas Iceland it. Diane Crittenden thinks Iceland is getting a bum wrap kind of. The air station s meteorologist and executive officer thinks the Island s name is a Misnomer at least in relative terms. It does get cold Crittenden said but not much colder than places in new York Minnesota or North Dakota. In fact there Are lots of places in the United states that get colder than Iceland the air temperature has never gone below 0 degrees fahrenheit Crittenden said. But what about the wind chill Factor anyone who s spent More than a couple Days on the Island would ask. That s the catch Crittenden said. The wind chill factors take the Winter time temperatures Down below sometimes Well below freezing Crittenden said. The winds Are severe sometimes she said. This year winds on the base got up to 87 knots that s almost twice America s National Speed limit. And it s something Crit Tenden and her Crew jokingly Call dump Ster condition 2" in which the giant trash receptacles sometimes take flight. If not for the wind Crittenden says ice land would feel a lot warmer. Because it is less humid it does t feel As cold she said. But because cold air is denser it will feel colder when the wind blows. Meteorology talk. Crittenden can explain Why Iceland has its Good weather. She says it could be a lot worse. But because of Iceland s location surrounded by water its position North East of North America and some complicated weather Phenomena it gets a relatively unchanging and moderate climate. One of the biggest factors affecting the Island s weather is water from the Gulf Stream that surrounds and protects it. Crit Tenden said that air is one of the big reasons Iceland does t have a lot of Snow on the ground for very Long. In neighbouring Green land which shares most of the same latitudes with Iceland it s easy to see that someone s getting a raw Deal. Iceland even has a hard time mustering up enough cold to freeze Over a Pond on a Lake for Lon Crittenden says. The average yearly snowfall at Kef Lavik is about 77 inches. Crittenden said the average temperature in january is about 30 degrees. August hosts a Balmy 50. Last year s record of 67 is about the Best the icelanders and 5,000 or so americans based Here will see. It never gets up to 70," Crittenden said. Passenger carrying Airship service returns to skies Watford England a an air ship took to the skies wednesday in what was billed As the first passenger service by dirigible since the 1937 Hindenburg disaster. The return of the dirigible to commercial service was lauded by aviation minister Michael Spicer who said it had potential in the military Field for air surveys and photography As Well As for commercial flights. The Airship industries sky ship 500-02 took off from windswept Leavesden Airfield near Watford just North of London carry ing five passengers anc1 two crewmen on a sightseeing trip Over the capital. A pipe band that saw it off was drowned out in the Roar of its twin engines. The 2/2-ton Craft was soon lost from View against a backdrop of thick Gray Clouds. Airship industries plans to run four flights a Day until mid june charging 100 pounds $150 for a leisurely View of Lon Don s landmarks. It says All 700 places have been snapped up. Airships went out of fashion in the 1930s, due to Competition from planes and two disasters the 1931 crash of the British built r101 at Beauvais in Northern France which killed 48 people and the 1937 fire on the German built Hindenburg in new Jer sey that took 33 lives. The Hindenburg disaster captured on film horrified the world. The sky ship 500-02, like the r101, was built at Cardington in Bedfordshire but Airship industries managing director Alan Birchmore said safety was not a problem in the 1980s. He pointed out that sky ship 500-02 was filled with helium Gas which ruled out the Chance of a disastrous fire like the one on the Hydrogen filled Hindenburg. We Are operating fare paying flights and the civil aviation authority is As strict with us on safety grounds As it is with a jumbo Jet or concorde he said. Birchmore said the company is planning to introduce a sky ship 600, which will be 20 percent bigger than the 500-02 and take a dozen passengers. We see a Market for Cross Channel flights to Paris which would take 2/2 hours not much longer than a plane but where passengers will be Able to enjoy the sights and have a few drinks at their  spider who went on the inaugural flight said the Low Cost of keeping airships in the sky for Long periods has attracted the Atten Tion of defense ministers around the world. There is quite considerable potential particularly in the Field of air surveys and photography and other defense work. I know the company has great aspirations and is in discussions with a number of coun tries particularly the United states he said. Airship industries sky ship 500-02 sails above Central London wednesday