title: Canton of Bern

text: In 1298 Bernese forces won a victory at Oberwangen in Köniz against the County of Savoy and the Habsburg Austrian nobility. In 1300, the city acquired the four surrounding parishes of Bolligen, Vechigen, Stettlen and Muri, destroyed the threatening castles of Bremgarten and Belp and gave the Baron of Montenach Bernese citizenship. After the victory of Louis IV of Bavaria over the Habsburg Frederick the Fair in the battle of Mühldorf (Bavaria) in 1322, Bern entered an alliance with the anti-Habsburg Swiss Forest Cantons in 1323.


title: Canton of Bern

text: In 1310 Emperor Henry VII pledged Laupen Castle, Laupen and the surrounding lands as collateral for a loan. In 1324, Bern acquired the pledged castle and lands. When the Emperor was unable to repay the loan, Laupen became the first bailiwick of Bern.


title: Canton of Bern

text: In 1322, the brothers Eberhard II of Neu-Kyburg and Hartmann II of Neu-Kyburg started fighting with each other over who would inherit the family's lands around Thun. The fighting led to the "fratricide at Thun Castle" where Eberhard killed his brother Hartmann. To avoid punishment by his Habsburg overlords, Eberhard fled to Bern. In the following year, he sold the town of Thun, its castle and the land surrounding Thun to Bern. Bern then granted the land back to Eberhard as a fief. Bern's support of Eberhard, their resulting expansion into the Oberland and their alliance with the Forest Cantons brought the city into conflict with the Habsburgs during the 14th Century. The Gümmenenkrieg in 1333 between Bern and Fribourg over rights and influence in the Sense/Singine area ended without resolving anything.


title: Canton of Bern

text: In 1334, Bern fought with the Barons of Weissenburg and occupied Wimmis and Unspunnen in the Oberland. Bern's victory allowed them to bring the Oberhasli region, its capital of Meiringen and Weissenburg under their control. Bern's continued expansion was at the expense of the feudal lords in the surrounding lands. In 1339 the Habsburgs, Kyburgs and Fribourg, marched against Bern with 17,000 men and besieged the border town of Laupen. To raise the siege, Bern raised a force of 6,000, consisting of Bernese, supported by the Forest Cantons, and other allies (Simmental, Weissenbur and Oberhasli). The allied Bernese forces were victorious at the Battle of Laupen and Bern drew closer to the Swiss Forest Cantons. It entered into a permanent or eternal alliance with Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden in 1353. This date is usually considered the date of Bern's entrance into the Swiss Confederation, however the alliance only indirectly tied Bern to Zürich and Lucerne.


title: Canton of Bern

text: In 1358 the cash-strapped Count Peter II of Aarberg pawned the County of Aarberg to Bern. However, in 1367 he sold it, without repaying Bern, to his cousin Rudolf IV of Nidau. After Rudolf's death (1375) Bern acquired clear right to the Aarberg lands from the other heirs.


title: Canton of Bern

text: Throughout the 14th Century, Bern entered into alliances and treaties with many of its neighbors, including members of the Swiss Confederation. Bern entered into a series of agreements with Biel/Bienne, which led to a conflict with Biel's ruler, Jean de Vienne, the Prince-Bishop of Basel, in 1367–68. The bishop marched south and destroyed Biel along with a number of towns in the southern Jura Mountains. During the Gugler war in 1375, there were several battles between Bernese troops and English mercenaries under Enguerrand de Coucy.


title: Canton of Bern

text: By the 1370s, the Kyburgs (which still held Thun as a fief for Bern) were deeply in debt to Bern. On 11 November 1382, Rudolf II of Neu-Kyburg made an unsuccessful raid on Solothurn. The ensuing conflict with the Old Swiss Confederacy (known as the "Burgdorferkrieg" or "Kyburgerkrieg") allowed Bern to move against the Habsburgs in Aargau. After the Bernese laid siege to Burgdorf, Neu-Kyburg was forced to concede an unfavourable peace. Bern bought Thun and Burgdorf, the most important cities of Neu-Kyburg, and their remaining towns passed to Bern and Solothurn by 1408. The last of the Neu-Kyburgs, Berchtold, died destitute in Bern in 1417.


title: Canton of Bern

text: In 1386, the Austrians under Leopold of Habsburg invaded eastern Switzerland. When they besieged the city of Sempach, troops from Zürich, Lucerne and the Forest Cantons marched out and defeated the Austrians at the Battle of Sempach. While Bern was not involved at Sempach they took advantage of the Austrian weakness to march into the Oberland in 1386, followed by the Seeland (the region south of the Jura Mountains containing the Morat (Murten), Neuchâtel and Bienne (Biel) lakes) in 1388 and the Aargau in 1389. In the peace agreement of 1389 Bern got Unterseen and the Upper Simme valley (Simmental) from the Habsburgs. In the same year, Fribourg accepted Berns acquisition of the Iselgaus, i.e. the area between Lake Biel and the Seeland. Over the next several decades Bern continued to expand to the detriment of the Habsburgs and Fribourg. They acquired the following towns: 1391 Simmenegg, 1399 Signau, 1400 Frutigen, 1407 Wangen, 1408 Trachselwald and Huttwil, 1412 Oltigen and in 1413 (together with Solothurn) Bipp and Bechburg.


title: Canton of Bern

text: By 1400, Bern controlled the entire Bernese Oberland. Under their control, the five valleys of the Oberland enjoyed extensive rights and far-reaching autonomy in the Bäuerten (farming cooperative municipalities) and "Talverbänden" (rural alpine communities). However, throughout the Late Middle Ages, the Oberland, as a whole or in part, revolted several times against Bernese authority. The Evil League ("Böser Bund") in 1445 fought against Bernese military service and taxes following the Old Zürich War, in 1528 the Oberland rose up in resistance to the Protestant Reformation and in 1641 Thun revolted.


title: Canton of Bern

text: In the Bernese Oberland during the 13th and the beginning of the 14th century Interlaken Monastery grew to become the largest landholder in the region. The Monastery controlled the towns of Grindlewald, Lauterbrunnen and numerous farms along Lake Brienz. However, in 1350 a period of crises and conflicts led to a decline in the number of monks and nuns and increasing debt. In 1348, the people of Grindelwald and Wilderswil joined a mutual defense league with Unterwalden. Bern responded with a military expedition to the Bernese Oberland, which ended in defeat for Unterwalden and its allies. By 1472, Bern was the patron of the Monastery. During the Protestant Reformation, the Monastery was secularized in 1528. The canons received a financial settlement and the properties were now managed by a Bernese bailiff. The tenants of the Monastery who had expected the abolition of all owed debts, responded by rioting, which was suppressed by Bern.


title: Canton of Bern

text: The lands around the northern shore of Lake Geneva and between Lake Neuchâtel were the next area into which Bern expanded. The region had originally been part of the Carolingian Empire. Then, in 1032 the Zähringens of Germany defeated the Burgundians, who were then replaced by the counts of Savoy in 1218. Under the counts of Savoy the area was given political unity, and established as the Barony of Vaud. However, as the power of the Savoys declined at the beginning of the 15th century the land was occupied by troops from Bern. By 1536 the area was completely annexed. Reformation was started by co-workers of John Calvin, including Viret, who engaged in a famous debate at the cathedral of Lausanne; but it was only decisively implemented when Bern put its full force behind it. Vaud was another French-speaking region in the mostly German-speaking canton, which caused several uprisings.


title: Canton of Bern

text: Both Château-d'Œx and Saanen were part of the county of Gruyère. Both districts had quite a bit of independence and often entered into treaties against the will and best interests of the Counts. In 1340 the Saanen valley concluded a peace treaty with the Simmental, which provided for arbitration in disputes. They entered into another treaty in 1393 with the Valais. In 1401, Count Rudolph of Gruyère entered into a treaty with Bern which included Saanen. Two years later Saanen and Château-d'Œx negotiated their own alliances with Bern. Due to the Bernese alliance, Saanen sent troops, under their own banner, to support the Bernese invasions of Aargau in 1415 and Valais in 1418. The military losses and taxes following the Old Zürich War led Saanen to support the Evil League ("Böser Bund") in 1445 against Bern.


title: Canton of Bern

text: In 1475, during the Burgundian Wars, the mountain regions of Saanen and Pays-d'Enhaut, who were allied with Bern, attacked and burned the tower of Aigle Castle. They then gave Aigle town and the surrounding district to Bern in exchange for not having to pay one-third of their income to Bern. In the treaty of Fribourg from 1476, Fribourg received rights over the Aigle district, which they gave up to Bern in 1483. Bern rebuilt Aigle Castle in 1489 and made it the seat of the bailiwick of Aigle. Also in 1475, the Confederation attacked and captured Grandson Castle. In the next year, Charles the Bold retook the castle and executed the Bernese garrison. In 1476, at the Battle of Grandson, Charles' forces retreated and the Bernese retook Grandson. After Charles' defeat at the Battle of Murten, Grandson became a shared territory between Bern and Fribourg. Each city appointed a vogt for five-year periods. Aigle and Grandson were the first French speaking regions in the Canton of Bern.


title: Canton of Bern

text: During the Burgundian War in 1475, Saanen, together with troops from Château-d'Œx and the Simmental captured the Savoy district of Aigle for Bern. Saanen and the surrounding district enjoyed a great deal of independence during the 16th century. However, in 1555 the last Count of Gruyère lost both districts to Bern when his county went bankrupt. Bern took over the entire Saanen valley in the following year and introduced the Protestant Reformation. They incorporated the Pays-d'Enhaut with Château-d'Œx into the new Bernese district of Saanen.


title: Canton of Bern

text: The area of the canton of Bern consists of lands acquired by the city of Bern mostly between the 14th and the 16th century during the original Swiss Confederacy period, both by conquest and purchase.Acquired districts, with dates of acquisition, include:


title: Canton of Bern

text: In the Middle Ages, upwards mobility and access to public offices was relatively easy for successful traders and craftsmen, but Bernese society became ever more stratified and aristocratic as the power and wealth of the city grew.


title: Canton of Bern

text: By the 17th century in the Early Modern period, citizenship had become an inherited prerogative, all political bodies elected one another and officials were elected for life. In effect, public offices were now the exclusive prerogative of the "gnädige Herren", the "merciful lords", as the small number of noble families now ruling Bern came to be called. In 1605 there were 152 families that were qualified to rule, by 1691 that number was only 104, while towards the end of the 18th century there were only 69 such families. Meanwhile, the land ruled by the town was extending over more and more territory, so that finally it governed 52 bailiwicks. These offices became very lucrative as the Bernese territories grew. Patrician "Landvögte", sheriffs, ruled the politically powerless countryside, often using armed force to put down peasant revolts.


title: Canton of Bern

text: In Vaud the Bernese occupation was not popular amongst the population. In 1723, Major Abraham Davel led a revolt against Bern, in protest at what he saw as the denial of political rights of the French-speaking Vaudois by the German-speaking Bernese, and was subsequently beheaded.


title: Canton of Bern

text: Inspired by the French Revolution, the Vaudois drove out the Bernese governor in 1798 and declared the Lemanic Republic. Vaud nationalists like Frédéric-César de La Harpe had called for French intervention in liberating the area and French Revolutionary troops moved in, taking over the whole of Switzerland itself in the process and setting up the Helvetic Republic.


title: Canton of Bern

text: In 1798, with the establishment of the Helvetic Republic, Bern was divided, the canton of Oberland with Thun as its capital and the canton of Léman with Lausanne as its capital were detached from what was left of the Canton of Bern.


title: Canton of Bern

text: Within the new canton of Oberland, historic borders and traditional rights were not considered. As there had been no previous separatist feeling amongst the conservative population, there was little enthusiasm for the new order. The situation in the canton of Léman was quite different. The French-speaking Vaudois had never felt like part of the German-speaking Canton of Bern. When they joined the Swiss Confederation in 1803, it was as the Canton of Vaud.


title: Canton of Bern

text: Under the Helvetic Republic, Pays-d'Enhaut with Château-d'Œx became part of the Canton of Léman while Saanen and the rest of the district became part of the Canton of Oberland. When the Helvetic Republic collapsed in 1803, Saanen and its district became a district in the new Canton of Bern while Château-d'Oex and its district joined Vaud.


title: Canton of Bern

text: The 1801 Malmaison Constitution proposed reuniting the Oberland with Bern, but it was not until the Act of Mediation, two years later, with the abolition of the Helvetic Republic and the partial restoration of the "ancien régime", that the two cantons were reunited.


title: Canton of Bern

text: Between 1803 and 1814 Bern was one of the six "directorial cantons" of the Napoleonic Swiss Confederation.


title: Canton of Bern

text: With the post−Napoleonic Restoration of 1815, Bern acquired the Bernese Jura with Biel/Bienne from the bishopric of Basel, while the canton of Léman became the canton of Vaud and remained separate from Bern.


title: Canton of Bern

text: Bern still remained the largest canton of the confederacy from 1815 to 1979, when parts of the Bernese Jura broke away to form the canton of Jura. In 1994 the Laufen District was transferred to the canton of Basel-Landschaft.


title: Canton of Bern

text: The canton of Bern is mainly drained by the river Aare and its tributaries. The area of the canton is commonly divided into six regions. The most populated area is the Bernese Mittelland on the plateau north of the Alps, with the capital city of Bern. The northmost part of the canton is the Bernese Jura bordering the Canton of Jura. The Bernese Oberland is the mountainous region which lies in the south of the canton.


title: Canton of Bern

text: The area of the canton is . Of this area, 6.9% is occupied with houses, businesses or roads. 42.6% of the canton is agricultural land, and 31.3% is forested. Less than 19.2% is considered non-productive, which includes glaciers, cliffs and lakes.


title: Canton of Bern

text: The Bernese Mittelland (Bernese Midlands) is made up of the valley of the rivers Aare, the (Grosse) Emme, some of the foothills of the Bernese Alps, as well as the plain around the capital Bern, and has many small farms and hilly forested regions with small to mid-sized towns scattered throughout. It is perhaps best known by foreigners and visitors for the Emmental. The classic Swiss cheese with holes Emmentaler comes from this region's forests and pastures, of hilly and low mountainous countryside in the range.


title: Canton of Bern

text: In the north of the canton lies the predominantly French-speaking Three Lakes Region (Seeland), concentrated around Lake Biel, Neuchâtel, and Murten, which rises from the plain up to the northernmost Swiss mountain chain of the Jura. This area, culminating at the Chasseral, has more relaxed geography, although still some lower mountains and some waterfalls, and large lakes.


title: Canton of Bern

text: The Bernese Oberland () constitute the north side of the Bernese Alps and the west side of the Urner Alps within the canton of Bern. The highest mountain in the Bernese Alps is the Finsteraarhorn at , but the best known mountains are Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau.


title: Canton of Bern

text: The well known hiking and ski resorts in the eastern Oberland are located around Interlaken and the Jungfrau, such as car-free Mürren and Wengen in the Lauterbrunnen valley, and Grindelwald. Further east, in the Haslital are the Aareschlucht and the town of Meiringen, famous for the fateful scene of Sherlock Holmes's 'death' at the hands of Professor Moriarty on the nearby Reichenbach Falls. In the Western Bernese Oberland there are many other resorts and small villages catering to visitors. These are accessed from the lake town of Thun, and the most notable of them are Kandersteg with the Oeschinensee and Adelboden. Further west is the Simmental with Lenk and Zweisimmen and the Saanenland with the famous resorts Gstaad and Saanen.


title: Canton of Bern

text: The whole area is very mountainous, with steep cliffs, many glaciers, and countless waterfalls. It is renowned for its scenic beauty and the charm of the small Swiss villages that dot the area. As a result of this, tourism is one of the main sources of income in the Bernese Oberland. The region also has an extensive train network as well as many cable cars and funiculars, with the highest train station in Europe at the Jungfraujoch and the longest gondola cableway in the world from Grindelwald to the Männlichen.


title: Canton of Bern

text: The Grand Council of Bern ( / ) is the parliament of the canton of Bern. It consists of 160 representatives elected by proportional representation for four-year terms of office. The French-speaking part of the canton, the Bernese Jura, has 12 seats guaranteed and 3 seats are guaranteed for the French-speaking minority of the bilingual district of Biel/Bienne.


title: Canton of Bern

text: The Executive Council of Bern ( / ) is the government of the canton of Bern. This seven-member collegial body is elected by the people for a period of four years. The cantonal constitution reserves one seat in the Executive Council for a French-speaking citizen from the Bernese Jura.


title: Canton of Bern

text: The canton has a two-tiered court system, consisting of district courts and a cantonal Supreme Court (, ). There is also an administrative court (; ) as well as other specialised courts and judicial boards.


title: Canton of Bern

text: On 1 January 2010, the 26 districts ("Amtsbezirke") were combined into 10 new districts ("Verwaltungskreise"):


title: Canton of Bern

text: The canton of Bern is bilingual: () both German (85.1% of the population) and French (10.4%) are spoken. The German-speaking majority speaks Bernese German, a Swiss German dialect. French-speakers live in the western and northern part of the canton, the Bernese Jura. Both German and French are spoken in the bilingual district of Biel/Bienne. In the cantonal government and administration, both languages are official languages of equal standing.


title: Canton of Bern

text: Bern has a population () of . , 15.0% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 4 years (2010–2014) the population has changed at a rate of 3.0%. Most of the population () speaks German (804,190 or 84.0%) as their first language, French is the second most common (72,646 or 7.6%) and Italian is the third (18,908 or 2.0%). There are 688 people who speak Romansh. Based on the new methodology of the 2014 census, the percentage of German native speakers increased to 85.1%, French speakers increased to 10.4% as did Italian speakers to 3.1%. The number of Romansh speakers was too small to accurately estimate, but was around 0.1%. The census also reported that 2.9% of the population speaks English as their native language. Respondents could choose up to three native languages, leading to a total above 100%.


title: Canton of Bern

text: , the population was 47.5% male and 52.5% female. The population was made up of 44,032 Swiss men (35.4% of the population) and 15,092 (12.1%) non-Swiss men. There were 51,531 Swiss women (41.4%) and 13,726 (11.0%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the canton, 292,559 or about 30.6% were born in Bern and lived there in 2000. There were 339,659 or 35.5% who were born in the same canton, while 154,709 or 16.2% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 129,864 or 13.6% were born outside of Switzerland.


title: Canton of Bern

text: , children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 19.1% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 60.9% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 19.9%. The 2000 census recorded 22%, 60.9% and 17.1% respectively.


title: Canton of Bern

text: , there were 397,095 people who were single and never married in the canton. There were 449,014 married individuals, 61,206 widows or widowers and 49,882 individuals who are divorced.


title: Canton of Bern

text: , there were 454,000 private households in the canton, and an average of 2.2 persons per household. , the construction rate of new housing units was 4.4 new units per 1000 residents.


title: Canton of Bern

text: In the 2011 federal election, the most popular party was the SVP which received 29.0% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP/PS (19.3%), the BDP (14.9%) and the Green Party (9.4%). The SVP received about the same percentage of the vote as they did in the 2007 Federal election (33.6% in 2007 vs 29.0% in 2011). The SPS retained about the same popularity (21.2% in 2007), the BDP moved from below fourth place in 2007 to third and the GPS moved from below fourth place in 2007 to fourth.


title: Canton of Bern

text: The blazon of the coat of arms is "Gules, on a bend or, a bear passant sable, langued, armed and vilené of the field." The official blazon specifies that the tongue, claws and penis are red—and by extension it is important to always depict the bear as male.


title: Canton of Bern

text: Most Bernese are Protestant (, 67%), and most Protestants belong to the Swiss Reformed Church, which is officially recognised as a state church (), although it is autonomous in its governance and is organised along democratic principles. The canton is also home to a great number of small Evangelical Christian denominations unaffiliated with the state church. Bernese evangelical groups are mostly found in the Emmental and Berner Oberland, where they have a long tradition; several contemporary North American religious groups, such as the Amish and Mennonites, were founded or co-founded by Bernese emigrants to the United States. Two small Evangelical political parties are represented in the Bernese cantonal parliament.


title: Canton of Bern

text: Bern features substantial Roman Catholic (16%) and Christian Catholic minorities. These churches also have state church status, and the small Jewish community is similarly recognised by law. As everywhere in Switzerland, there are also significant religious communities of immigrants, including Sikhs (who have a prominent Gurdwara, or temple, in Langenthal), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (who have built the Bern Switzerland Temple) and Muslims. , the plans to expand a backyard mosque in Langenthal with a symbolic minaret have, as elsewhere in Switzerland, caused a public stir due to vocal opposition from local conservative and evangelical leaders.


title: Canton of Bern

text: From the , 607,358 or 63.5% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church, while 153,357 or 16.0% were Roman Catholic. Of the rest of the population, there were 9,153 members of an Orthodox church (or about 0.96% of the population), there were 1,064 individuals (or about 0.11% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church, and there were 71,233 individuals (or about 7.44% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 807 individuals (or about 0.08% of the population) who were Jewish, and 28,377 (or about 2.96% of the population) who were Muslims. There were 2,662 individuals who were Buddhist, 5,991 individuals who were Hindu and 913 individuals who belonged to another church. 74,162 (or about 7.75% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic or atheist, and 37,059 individuals (or about 3.87% of the population) did not answer the question.


title: Canton of Bern

text: Tourism is the main source of income in the Bernese Oberland. Other important sectors are agriculture (especially cattle breeding), cheese making, and hydroelectric power generation. The Bernese cheese Emmentaler is known around the world. In the Bernese Midlands the lands are more fertile. Agriculture is of great importance, but this part of the canton is also the most industrialized. Small and middle-sized businesses are important employers in this part of the canton of Bern. There is a nuclear power plant at Mühleberg.


title: Canton of Bern

text: The area around Lake Biel is renowned for its wine production. The 3 French-speaking districts of the Bernese Jura and the bilingual district of Biel/Bienne are renowned for their watch industry and its mechanical industry (high precision machine tools, automation and machining).


title: Canton of Bern

text: , Bern had an unemployment rate of 2.58%, compared to the Swiss national average of 3.3%. , there were 34,200 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 11,563 businesses involved in this sector. About 132,800 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 11,925 businesses in this sector. Approximately 453,800 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 55,347 businesses in this sector. Of the working population, 31.0% used public transportation to get to work, and 51.0% used a private car.


title: Canton of Bern

text: In Bern about 385,640 or (40.3%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 121,749 or (12.7%) have completed additional higher education (either university or a "Fachhochschule"). Of the 121,749 who completed tertiary schooling, 65.0% were Swiss men, 24.8% were Swiss women, 6.2% were non-Swiss men and 4.0% were non-Swiss women.


title: Nothing More

text: The band began working on a follow-up in 2016 while continuing to tour in support of their self-titled release, and in September 2017, released their fifth studio album - their second on a major record label - "The Stories We Tell Ourselves". The lead single, "Go to War", outperformed the prior singles, topping the Mainstream Rock chart, and the release earned the band three Grammy Award nominations; Best Rock Album for the album, and Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance for "Go to War". The band continued to promote the release moving into 2018, releasing singles, "Do You Really Want It?" and "Just Say When", and embarking on multiple North American tours into 2019.


title: Nothing More

text: Band member Jonny Hawkins began playing drums as early as the seventh grade, which is around the time he met guitarist Mark Vollelunga, by hearing him play guitar at a church camp. The two became friends, and would hold informal jam sessions together with other students throughout their middle and high school years. In 2003, Hawkins and Vollelunga officially formed the band.


title: Nothing More

text: Around the end of high school, the band began recording music and touring locally, which they did for years, plagued by lineup changes and the inability to garner a contract from a record label. In 2004, the band released the more funk-influenced album "Shelter" with vocalist Josh Klaus, bassist Matt Reynolds, and second guitarist Josh Kercheville. Klaus, followed shortly by Reynolds, were replaced in 2004 by Travis Cox and Daniel Oliver, respectively; they recorded and released the EP "Madhatter's Bliss" in July 2005. A compilation album, "Vandura", largely consisting of the tracks from the first two releases, was also released in May 2006. Cox was later replaced by singer Trey Graham, who had previously toured with Kelly Clarkson. The band found some form of success in the release, releasing the album "Save You/Save Me" in 2007 and touring with Thirty Seconds to Mars and getting on to The Warped Tour, but ultimately felt unhappy with the compromise of moving in a more pop, mainstream influence from Graham, and parted ways with the singer. Around the same time, Kercheville left the band as well, leaving the band as a trio.


title: Nothing More

text: By mid-2008, the band was at a crossroads. Hawkins began struggling with depression, due to a number of personal issues, ranging from his mother's diagnosis, and eventual death, from cancer, the end of a five-year romantic relationship, and stress from turnover in band membership. Additionally, the band had won a "battle of the bands" contest prior to losing Graham and Kercheville, but collecting the prize money and instruments they had won required them to perform a showcase in front of record label executives. Feeling a drastic change was in order, Hawkins decided, after over eight years as the band's drummer, to instead become the band's frontman and lead vocalist. While the performance, having Hawkins do drums and vocals concurrently, did not go over well, his instinct was that this was the correct direction for the band to pursue ultimately. Despite Hawkins' lack of formal experience in singing, and even general fear of public speaking, he garnered the support of remaining members Vollelunga and Oliver, and the band pushed forward, opting to use fill-in temporary drummers for live performances moving forward. The members saw this as a new beginning for the band, and later even removed all their previous recordings from any sort of retail space, feeling it no longer represented the band.


title: Nothing More

text: In 2009, the band released their first album with Hawkins as the lead vocalist, "The Few Not Fleeting". Hawkins largely drew from the aforementioned personal issues for lyrical material on the album, and it largely being created by the core trio, the band was able to delve farther into their preferred music stylings, which the band described as more in the progressive rock, alternative rock, and hard rock veins than prior releases. The album recorded in Hawkins' home studio, allowing the band to not be constrained by money or time restraints in the studio, which in turn improved the release's overall sound quality as well. The band toured in support of the album for two years. While Hawkins performed drums on the album, the band recruited a new drummer, Devin Travieso, who toured in support of the album with the band.


title: Nothing More

text: After the two years of touring in support of "The Few Not Fleeting", the band turned to working on recording new music in 2011. Still unable to secure a contract from a record label, the band decided to work independently again. Despite this, they set their goal to make a record that sounded as good as a major label release, but on an independent budget. The band recruited new permanent drummer, Paul O'Brien, who reached out to the band after his prior band, Pandemic, broke up. Nothing More members, who were familiar with his work with Pandemic, knew he would be a good fit, and hired him after a successful audition. The four proceeded to move in to a house together and worked on the album for three years, writing about the cumulative five years in between the prior and then upcoming album, where they faced many personal hardships they had lived through during the recording process. Feeling financial hardships during the time, the band raised money through a successful Kickstarter campaign. The band had written 60 song ideas, and spent an entire year filtering through the song ideas into 20 songs, and then down to the 17 found on the album's final track list.


title: Nothing More

text: The band finished the album, titled it "Nothing More", released it independently in June 2013, and then began touring in support of the album. Their big break occurred in September at the 2013 Aftershock Festival. After a successful show on the first day of the festival, they were asked to come back and perform on the second day, to replace a bigger-named band at one of the show's larger stages. The shows exposed them to a much larger crowd than they usually played - between 10,000 and 13,000 audience members - and after a successful second show, the band finally began getting a number of record label offers. In March 2014, the band decided to sign a contract with Eleven Seven Music, not only ending their long-term search for record label support, but securing a five-album deal. "Nothing More" was then given a much wider release by the label on June 4, 2014. This time, the album charted, debuting at number 33 on the Billboard 200 and selling 8,600 copies in its opening week.


title: Nothing More

text: The band also found much success at rock radio from the releases, with multiple singles charting from the album. The lead single, "This is the Time (Ballast)", hit number 1 on the Mediabase Active Rock chart. It also peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. Follow-up singles also performed well on the Mainstream Rock chart, including "Mr. MTV", peaking at number 12, "Jenny", peaking at number 6, and "Here's to the Heartache", peaking at number 4. The band toured extensively in support of the album, across North America, Europe, Japan, and Australia. Notably, this included a tour with Chevelle prior to the album's release, an arena tour with Five Finger Death Punch, Hellyeah, and Volbeat in 2014, a tour with Shinedown in 2015, and the Monster Energy Outbreak tour with Marmozets in 2015. However, by September 2015, O'Brien amicably chose to leave the band, with the extensive stadium touring being too stressful for him, causing him depression and anxiety. He was replaced by Ben Anderson, who finished out the 2015 touring and became a permanent member of the band.


title: Nothing More

text: After extensive touring across 2014 and 2015, the band returned to writing and recording new material in early 2016. By September 2016, the band had 17 fully developed songs, and were contemplating whether or not any songs should be trimmed from the final track listing. The band took a break from recording at this point to tour with Disturbed and Chevelle throughout the end of the year, before returning to complete the recording of the album in early 2017.


title: Nothing More

text: In June 2017, the band officially announced the title of their fifth studio album, "The Stories We Tell Ourselves", and that it would be released on September 15, 2017. The album debuted at number 15 on the "Billboard" 200 all-format album chart, selling approximately 20,000 copies in its first week. Prior to the album's release, the band released its first single, "Go to War", and a number of other promotional songs, including "Don't Stop" and "Let 'Em Burn". The band performed at the Alternative Press Music Awards and the Loudwire Music Awards in the latter half of 2017. In November 2017, it was announced that the band was nominated for three Grammy Awards for the 2018 Grammy Awards; "Go to War" being nominated for Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song, and "The Stories We Tell Ourselves" for Best Rock Album. In the same month, "Go to War" topped the "Billboard" Mainstream Rock song chart as well.


title: Nothing More

text: The band toured heavily in support of the album in 2018, including a headlining North American tour in February and March, and a North American tour with Papa Roach and Escape the Fate in April and May. Just prior to the 2018 touring, the band released a music video for their second single, "Do You Really Want It?". The CEO of the band's record label mentioned future plans of releasing "Just Say When" as a single as well, which was later done in April 2018; "Let 'Em Burn" later received a formal single release in December. The band continued touring in support of the album into 2019 with a headlining North American tour. The band was the opening act for the band Ghost in the fall of 2019.


title: Nothing More

text: Planning for a follow-up album started as early as January 2019, with Hawkins that he was working on prepping a new studio to prepare for new album sessions between legs of touring. Hawkins noted it was difficult at times focusing on touring when he had so many thoughts on creating a new album. By October, Vollelunga noted that the band had been creating makeshift recording areas in locker rooms and dressing rooms so they could hold impromptu jam sessions of new material prior to performing their lives shows. He noted that the band would change gears and focus 100% on writing and recording a new album in 2020.The release did not surface in 2021 as work on the album took longer than expected, and in January 2022, the band was revealed to be playing Wisconsin's Rock Fest. This was followed by the announcement of an American co-headlining tour with Asking Alexandria in March which would stretch across May and June, with Atreyu and Eva Under Fire as supporting acts.


title: Nothing More

text: Two weeks later, they released their first promotional song, "Turn It Up Like (Stand in the Fire)". The first official single, "Tired of Winning", was released in late April, and the band were announced as a special guest on In This Moment's Blood 1983 tour in late June, celebrating the 10-year anniversary of their 2012 album "Blood". Three days later, Nothing More's new album title, "Spirits", was revealed alongside its title track. Set for release on October 14, another song from the record, "You Don't Know What Love Means", was released in advance of the album in mid-August.


title: Nothing More

text: The band has been described as alternative rock, hard rock, progressive rock, progressive metal, and heavy metal. While not directly given the label, their music has been described as having a hardcore and nu metal influence. AllMusic has described the band's overall sound as "somewhere between System of a Down and Incubus", while Team Rock described them as "Hard as fuck crunchy riffs with a slight metal edge all polished up with a fuck-ton of gleaming, radio-friendly production. Imagine if Nine Inch Nails colluded with Royal Blood and Biffy Clyro and you're sort of close." Musically, Hawkins was influenced by the bands Tool and Rage Against the Machine, and the drumming of ex-Dream Theater member Mike Portnoy. In a profile by "The Guardian", their musical approach was outlined:


title: Nothing More

text: The band's lyrical content has been inspired by a wide variety of factors. Hawkin's personal life has been a large influence; the single "Jenny" is a song that was inspired by his aunt who struggles with schizophrenia and his sister Jenna who struggles with bipolar disorder. The band used the song, and respective music video, to help raise awareness and money for mental illness. "God Went North" is about the passing of his mother. They have found inspiration from a wide variety of influential writers and philosophers as well, from Carl Jung to C.S. Lewis. Hawkins explained that "Films have inspired a lot of our songwriting, obviously through the stories but also through how certain directors communicate emotions through visual media, and I think a lot of philosophers like Alan Watts for instance, who has been a big influence on our lyrics and how we view songwriting altogether which affects how we end up creating all of it." Nothing More has also listed Eckhart Tolle, Stanley Kubrick, Terrence Malick, and Dustin Kensrue as their influences.


title: Nothing More

text: Mike Wengren, the drummer of the band Disturbed, cited Nothing More as one of his favorite newer hard rock bands, citing them as one of the examples against the "rock music is dead" argument.


title: Nothing More

text: The band is known for its elaborate and energetic live performances, with it being likened to "some sort of twisted, rock 'n roll adaptation of Blue Man Group — if Blue Man Group ever opened for Rage Against the Machine." The band has set up two separate drum sets for their live show, one for the band's primary drummer Ben Anderson, and one for Hawkins to join in on intermittently, who had previously been a drummer himself in the early years of the band. The performances also include a number of contraptions created by the bands themselves, including "The Scorpion Tail" in 2016, an animated structure created out of scrap metal and salvaged auto parts, weighing 400 pounds and measuring 14 feet tall. Hawkins rides the structure, while also using it to create digital electronic effects for the songs as well. Its design is based on the "Drumtron"/"Bassinator" contraption the band has used prior, which also allowed the band to perform 3 person bass solos by Hawkins, Vollelunga, and Oliver.


title: Wind shear

text: Wind shear (or windshear), sometimes referred to as wind gradient, is a difference in wind speed and/or direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere. Atmospheric wind shear is normally described as either vertical or horizontal wind shear. Vertical wind shear is a change in wind speed or direction with a change in altitude. Horizontal wind shear is a change in wind speed with a change in lateral position for a given altitude.


title: Wind shear

text: Wind shear is a microscale meteorological phenomenon occurring over a very small distance, but it can be associated with mesoscale or synoptic scale weather features such as squall lines and cold fronts. It is commonly observed near microbursts and downbursts caused by thunderstorms, fronts, areas of locally higher low-level winds referred to as low-level jets, near mountains, radiation inversions that occur due to clear skies and calm winds, buildings, wind turbines, and sailboats. Wind shear has significant effects on the control of an aircraft, and it has been the sole or a contributing cause of many aircraft accidents.


title: Wind shear

text: Sound movement through the atmosphere is affected by wind shear, which can bend the wave front, causing sounds to be heard where they normally would not, or vice versa. Strong vertical wind shear within the troposphere also inhibits tropical cyclone development but helps to organize individual thunderstorms into longer life cycles which can then produce severe weather. The thermal wind concept explains how differences in wind speed at different heights are dependent on horizontal temperature differences and explains the existence of the jet stream.


title: Wind shear

text: Wind shear refers to the variation of wind velocity over either horizontal or vertical distances. Airplane pilots generally regard significant wind shear to be a horizontal change in airspeed of for light aircraft, and near for airliners at flight altitude. Vertical speed changes greater than also qualify as significant wind shear for aircraft. Low-level wind shear can affect aircraft airspeed during takeoff and landing in disastrous ways, and airliner pilots are trained to avoid all microburst wind shear (headwind loss in excess of ). The rationale for this additional caution includes:


title: Wind shear

text: Wind shear is also a key factor in the formation of severe thunderstorms. The additional hazard of turbulence is often associated with wind shear.


title: Wind shear

text: Weather fronts are boundaries between two masses of air of different densities, or different temperature and moisture properties, which normally are convergence zones in the wind field and are the principal cause of significant weather. Within surface weather analyses, they are depicted using various colored lines and symbols. The air masses usually differ in temperature and may also differ in humidity. Wind shear in the horizontal occurs near these boundaries.


title: Wind shear

text: Cold fronts feature narrow bands of thunderstorms and severe weather and may be preceded by squall lines and dry lines. Cold fronts are sharper surface boundaries with more significant horizontal wind shear than warm fronts. When a front becomes stationary, it can degenerate into a line that separates regions of differing wind speed, known as a shear line, though the wind direction across the front normally remains constant. In the tropics, tropical waves move from east to west across the Atlantic and eastern Pacific basins. Directional and speed shear can occur across the axis of stronger tropical waves, as northerly winds precede the wave axis and southeast winds are seen behind the wave axis. Horizontal wind shear can also occur along the local land breeze and sea breeze boundaries.


title: Wind shear

text: The magnitude of winds offshore is nearly double the wind speed observed onshore. This is attributed to the differences in friction between landmasses and offshore waters. Sometimes, there are even directional differences, particularly if local sea breezes change the wind on shore during daylight hours.


title: Wind shear

text: Thermal wind is a meteorological term not referring to an actual wind, but a "difference" in the geostrophic wind between two pressure levels and , with ; in essence, wind shear. It is only present in an atmosphere with horizontal changes in temperature (or in an ocean with horizontal gradients of density), i.e. baroclinicity. In a barotropic atmosphere, where temperature is uniform, the geostrophic wind is independent of height. The name stems from the fact that this wind flows around areas of low (and high) temperature in the same manner as the geostrophic wind flows around areas of low (and high) pressure.


title: Wind shear

text: where the are geopotential height fields with , is the Coriolis parameter, and is the upward-pointing unit vector in the vertical direction. The thermal wind equation does not determine the wind in the tropics. Since is small or zero, such as near the equator, the equation reduces to stating that is small.


title: Wind shear

text: This equation basically describes the existence of the jet stream, a westerly current of air with maximum wind speeds close to the tropopause which is (even though other factors are also important) the result of the temperature contrast between equator and pole.


title: Wind shear

text: Tropical cyclones are, in essence, heat engines that are fueled by the temperature gradient between the warm tropical ocean surface and the colder upper atmosphere. Tropical cyclone development requires relatively low values of vertical wind shear so that their warm core can remain above their surface circulation center, thereby promoting intensification. Vertical wind shear tears up the "machinery" of the heat engine causing it to break down. Strongly sheared tropical cyclones weaken as the upper circulation is blown away from the low-level center.


title: Wind shear

text: Severe thunderstorms, which can spawn tornadoes and hailstorms, require wind shear to organize the storm in such a way as to maintain the thunderstorm for a longer period. This occurs as the storm's inflow becomes separated from its rain-cooled outflow. An increasing nocturnal, or overnight, low-level jet can increase the severe weather potential by increasing the vertical wind shear through the troposphere. Thunderstorms in an atmosphere with virtually no vertical wind shear weaken as soon as they send out an outflow boundary in all directions, which then quickly cuts off its inflow of relatively warm, moist air and causes the thunderstorm to dissipate.


title: Wind shear

text: The atmospheric effect of surface friction with winds aloft forces surface winds to slow and back counterclockwise near the surface of Earth blowing inward across isobars (lines of equal pressure) when compared to the winds in frictionless flow well above Earth's surface. This layer where friction slows and changes the wind is known as the planetary boundary layer, sometimes the Ekman layer, and it is thickest during the day and thinnest at night. Daytime heating thickens the boundary layer as winds at the surface become increasingly mixed with winds aloft due to insolation, or solar heating. Radiative cooling overnight further enhances wind decoupling between the winds at the surface and the winds above the boundary layer by calming the surface wind which increases wind shear. These wind changes force wind shear between the boundary layer and the wind aloft and are most emphasized at night.


title: Wind shear

text: In gliding, wind gradients just above the surface affect the takeoff and landing phases of the flight of a glider.


title: Wind shear

text: Wind gradient can have a noticeable effect on ground launches, also known as winch launches or wire launches. If the wind gradient is significant or sudden,


title: Wind shear

text: or both, and the pilot maintains the same pitch attitude, the indicated airspeed will increase, possibly exceeding


title: Wind shear

text: the maximum ground launch tow speed. The pilot must adjust the airspeed to deal with the effect of the


title: Wind shear

text: When landing, wind shear is also a hazard, particularly when the winds are strong. As the glider descends through the wind gradient on final approach to landing, airspeed decreases while sink rate increases, and there is insufficient time to accelerate prior to ground contact. The pilot must anticipate the wind gradient and use a higher approach speed to compensate for it.


title: Wind shear

text: Wind shear is also a hazard for aircraft making steep turns near the ground. It is a particular problem for gliders which have a relatively long wingspan, which exposes them to a greater wind speed difference for a given bank angle. The different airspeed experienced by each wing tip can result in an aerodynamic stall on one wing, causing a loss of control accident.


title: Wind shear

text: Wind shear or wind gradients are a threat to parachutists, particularly to BASE jumping and wingsuit flying. Skydivers have been pushed off of their course by sudden shifts in wind direction and speed, and have collided with bridges, cliffsides, trees, other skydivers, the ground, and other obstacles. Skydivers routinely make adjustments to the position of their open canopies to compensate for changes in direction while making landings to prevent accidents such as canopy collisions and canopy inversion.


title: Wind shear

text: Soaring related to wind shear, also called dynamic soaring, is a technique used by soaring birds like albatrosses, who can maintain flight without wing flapping. If the wind shear is of sufficient magnitude, a bird can climb into the wind gradient, trading ground speed for height, while maintaining airspeed. By then turning downwind, and diving through the wind gradient, they can also gain energy. It has also been used by glider pilots on rare occasions.


title: Wind shear

text: Wind shear can also produce wave. This occurs when an atmospheric inversion separates two layers with a marked difference in wind direction. If the wind encounters distortions in the inversion layer caused by thermals coming up from below, it will produce significant shear waves that can be used for soaring.


title: Wind shear

text: Windshear can be extremely dangerous for aircraft, especially during takeoff and landing. Sudden changes in wind velocity can cause rapid decreases in airspeed, leading to the aircraft being unable to maintain altitude. Windshear has been responsible for several deadly accidents, including Eastern Air Lines Flight 66, Pan Am Flight 759, Delta Air Lines Flight 191, and USAir Flight 1016.


title: Wind shear

text: Windshear can be detected using Doppler radar. Airports can be fitted with low-level windshear alert systems or Terminal Doppler Weather Radar, and aircraft can be fitted with airborne wind shear detection and alert systems. Following the 1985 crash of Delta Air Lines Flight 191, in 1988 the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration mandated that all commercial aircraft have airborne wind shear detection and alert systems by 1993. The installation of high-resolution Terminal Doppler Weather Radar stations at many U.S. airports that are commonly affected by windshear has further aided the ability of pilots and ground controllers to avoid wind shear conditions.


title: Wind shear

text: Wind shear affects sailboats in motion by presenting a different wind speed and direction at different heights along the mast. The effect of low-level wind shear can be factored into the selection of sail twist in the sail design, but this can be difficult to predict since wind shear may vary widely in different weather conditions. Sailors may also adjust the trim of the sail to account for low-level wind shear, for example using a boom vang.


title: Wind shear

text: Wind shear can have a pronounced effect upon sound propagation in the lower atmosphere, where waves can be "bent" by refraction phenomenon. The audibility of sounds from distant sources, such as thunder or gunshots, is very dependent on the amount of shear. The result of these differing sound levels is key in noise pollution considerations, for example from roadway noise and aircraft noise, and must be considered in the design of noise barriers. This phenomenon was first applied to the field of noise pollution study in the 1960s, contributing to the design of urban highways as well as noise barriers.


title: Wind shear

text: The speed of sound varies with temperature. Since temperature and sound velocity normally decrease with increasing altitude, sound is refracted upward, away from listeners on the ground, producing an acoustic shadow at some distance from the source. In 1862, during the American Civil War Battle of Iuka, an acoustic shadow, believed to have been enhanced by a northeast wind, kept two divisions of Union soldiers out of the battle, because they could not hear the sounds of battle only six miles downwind.


title: Wind shear

text: Wind engineering is a field of engineering devoted to the analysis of wind effects on the natural and built environment. It includes strong winds which may cause discomfort as well as extreme winds such as tornadoes, hurricanes, and storms which may cause widespread destruction. Wind engineering draws upon meteorology, aerodynamics, and several specialist engineering disciplines. The tools used include climate models, atmospheric boundary layer wind tunnels, and numerical models. It involves, among other topics, how wind impacting buildings must be accounted for in engineering.


title: Wind shear

text: Wind turbines are affected by wind shear. Vertical wind-speed profiles result in different wind speeds at the blades nearest to the ground level compared to those at the top of blade travel, and this, in turn, affects the turbine operation. This low-level wind shear can cause a large bending moment in the shaft of a two-bladed turbine when the blades are vertical. The reduced wind shear over water means shorter and less expensive wind turbine towers can be used in shallow seas.


title: Nephila

text: Nephila is a genus of araneomorph spiders noted for the impressive webs they weave. "Nephila" consists of numerous species found in warmer regions around the world. They are commonly called golden silk orb-weavers, golden orb-weavers, giant wood spiders, or banana spiders.


title: Nephila

text: The genus name "Nephila" is derived from Ancient Greek, meaning "fond of spinning", from the words νεῖν ("nein") = to spin (related to "nema" νήμα "thread") + φίλος ("philos") = "love".


title: Nephila

text: "Nephila" spiders vary from reddish to greenish yellow in color with distinctive whiteness on the cephalothorax and the beginning of the abdomen. Like many species of the superfamily Araneoidea, most of them have striped legs specialized for weaving (where their tips point inward, rather than outward as is the case with many wandering spiders). Their contrast of dark brown/black and green/yellow allows warning and repelling of potential predators to which their venom might be of little danger.


title: Nephila

text: Golden orb-weavers reach sizes of 4.8–5.1 cm (1.5–2 in) in females, not including legspan, with males being usually two-thirds smaller (less than 2.5 cm, 1 in). In 2012, a large individual was photographed killing and consuming a 0.5-m-long brown tree snake in Freshwater, Queensland. Species from Taiwan have been known to reach over , legspan included, in mountainous country. In 2014, a study discovered that golden orb-weavers living in urban areas, particularly areas of a high socioeconomic status, grew larger and carried more eggs than those in their native habitats. A number of possible explanations were suggested, such as increased food supplies due to artificial light or lack of predators and parasites.


title: Nephila

text: In 2018, twelve "Nephila" species were reclassified as "Trichonephila", with another two ("N. kuhlii" and "N. robusta") considered in 2020 to be junior synonyms of "N. pilipes". Species whose placement has been changed by some sources include:


title: Nephila

text: , the World Spider Catalog did not accept all of these changes, listing the following species in the genus "Nephila":


title: Nephila

text: Additional fossil species are known from the Cenozoic. In 2012 "Geratonephila burmanica" was described from the Cenomanian aged Burmese amber, Wunderlich 2015 synonymised "Geratonephilia" with "Nephilia tenuis," a species from the Dominican Amber, as he considered it unlikely that the amber was actually Burmese in origin. Though largely ambiguous, the origins of "Nephila" are undoubtedly Gondowanan. With the prime candidates being Africa, Indomalaya, and Australasia.


title: Nephila

text: Golden silk orb-weavers are widespread in warmer regions throughout the world, with species in Australia, Asia, Africa (including Madagascar), and the Americas. Spiderlings can be carried by the wind over long distances, and each year, a small number of female golden orb web spiders are found in New Zealand (where they are not endemic) after having been blown across the Tasman Sea; the spiders usually end up in the North Island.


title: Nephila

text: Whilst the geographic distribution of "Nephila" is large, many habitat similarities are seen between these locations. A warm and reasonably wet climate is generally preferred, as these are some of the environmental cues that induce spiderling hatching. Locally, spiders look for relatively dense vegetation where webs can be set up in areas that insects will regularly fly through. Urban environments are also attractive due to the large prey concentrations and lower levels of predation.


title: Nephila

text: "Nephila" spiders produce large asymmetric orb webs up to in diameter. "Nephila" species remain in their webs permanently, so have a higher predation risk. The golden silk orb-weaver is named for the yellow color of the spider silk used to construct these webs.


title: Nephila

text: Yellow threads of their web shine like gold in sunlight. Carotenoids are the main contributors to this yellow color, but xanthurenic acid, two quinones, and an unknown compound may also aid in the color. Experimental evidence suggests that the silk's color may serve a dual purpose: sunlit webs ensnare bees that are attracted to the bright yellow strands, whereas in shady spots, the yellow blends in with background foliage to act as a camouflage. The spider is able to adjust pigment intensity relative to background light levels and color; the range of spectral reflectance is specifically adapted to insect vision.


title: Nephila

text: The webs of most "Nephila" spiders are complex, with a fine-meshed orb suspended in a maze of non-sticky barrier webs. As with many weavers of sticky spirals, the orb is renewed regularly if not daily, apparently because the stickiness of the orb declines with age. When weather is good (and no rain has damaged the orb web), subadults and adults often rebuild only a portion of the web. The spider removes and consumes the portion to be replaced, builds new radial elements, then spins the new spirals. This partial orb renewal is distinct from other orb-weaving spiders that usually replace the entire orb web. The web of "Nephila antipodiana" contains ant-repellent chemicals to protect the web.


title: Nephila

text: Typically, the golden orb-weaver first weaves a nonsticky spiral with space for two to 20 more spirals in between (the density of sticky spiral strands decreases with increasing spider size). When she has completed the coarse weaving, she returns and fills in the gaps. Whereas most orb-weaving spiders remove the nonsticky spiral when spinning the sticky spiral, "Nephila" spiders leave it. This produces a "manuscript paper" effect when the orb is seen in the sun: groups of sticky spirals reflecting light with "gaps" where the nonsticky spiral does not reflect the light.


title: Nephila

text: In relation to the ground, the webs of adults may be woven from eye-level upwards high into the tree canopy. The orb web is usually truncated by a top horizontal support strand, giving it an incomplete look.


title: Nephila

text: Adjacent to one face of the main orb, a rather extensive and haphazard-looking network of guard-strands may be suspended a few centimeters distant across a free space. This network is often decorated with a lumpy string or two of plant detritus and insect carcasses clumped with silk. This "barrier web" may function as a kind of early-warning system for incoming prey or against spider-hunting predators, or as a shield against windblown leaves; it may also be remnants of the owner's previous web. At least one reference explains the suspended debris-chain as a cue for birds to avoid blundering into and destroying the web.


title: Nephila

text: The golden silk orb-weaver targets many different organisms as prey, ranging from small flies and beetles to larger cicadas and locusts. As a result of their strong web structure, small birds and bats can also become trapped and fed upon. Whilst most of the captured prey is relatively small compared to "Nephila", the majority of biomass consumed comes from larger, rarer prey. Prey larger than 66% of the captor's size accounts for just 16.5% of prey captured, but 85% of prey consumed, indicating the spider is selective in its feeding habits.


title: Nephila

text: Spiders are notified that potential prey has been caught in the web through vibrations along strands, and these can be followed to the prey location on the web and be used to estimate prey size.


title: Nephila

text: "Nephila" species also create caches of food for storage, which can be found above the hub of the web and contain up to 15 prey items. These items are arranged in a line vertically and are wrapped in silk to reduce dehydration. Caches are created and grow when prey is readily available and more biomass is available for consumption than is required by the spider. The purpose of caches is to have a backup food source when prey is scarce and occasionally to provide bait to attract more prey to the web. "Nephila" species may also respond to food shortages by moving their webs, but this is a response to longer periods of prey scarcity than cache creation. Web moving is seen as a result of environmental change, whereas caches occur from environmental fluctuation.


title: Nephila

text: "Nephila" spiders display large sexual dimorphism in size, with females being greatly larger than males. Debate exists as to whether this is a result of male dwarfism or female gigantism. Smaller males may be selected for due to the presence of competition for mating. Smaller males are quicker and more nimble, allowing them to be able to catch the females more easily, as well as to escape when threatened. Larger males may have to wait for the female to come close due to their slower speed. Larger females may have been selected for as a result of males using mating plugs upon copulation. Larger individuals reduce the success of these plugs, allowing for multiple mating and reducing the risk of genital mutilation. Gigantism in females is also associated with fecundity, as larger individuals can produce more eggs and therefore increase reproductive success.


title: Nephila

text: When males are fully mature, they leave their webs to search for a suitable female, often using web characteristics to identify potential mates. Often, multiple males attempt to court the same female, thus competition for territory on the web occurs, but is rarely physical, as smaller males surrender area to larger ones. When males approach females, they are often feeding, allowing the males to get closer without an aggressive response and also meaning the female is not moving. On approach, the male makes himself known by tapping on a web strand to ensure the female is amenable before proceeding to mate. When met with aggression, males stop approaching and remain in the same location until the female relaxes or they retreat. Females engage in multiple mating, but no benefit to the offspring occurs as a result of this; however, the energy cost of repelling a male is higher than that of allowing him to copulate. As a result of this, sperm competition occurs through males altering the duration and frequency of mating, with longer mating being proportional to a greater likelihood of success. Sexual cannibalism is uncommon in "Nephila" as a result of male mating behaviours. By copulating when females are immobile after molting or inactive due to feeding, the males increase their chances of survival. Males also approach from the side of the web opposite the female, increasing the odds of a successful approach. Male "Nephila pilipes" is reported to have a mate binding behavior to avoid sexual cannibalism. Sexual cannibalism does still occur, but generally is more common with larger males, and from older females.


title: Nephila

text: Females produce an egg sac in the surrounding environs of the web to protect their eggs. The eggs are deposited on a silk platform, then are covered in loose silk to form a sac, which is firmly attached to surrounding vegetation so that it is hidden from the view of predators. It is reported that egg sacs are mostly under leaves and other coverings. However, only "Nephila pilipes" is different than other "Nephila" species. They lay eggs in small pits on the ground to avoid parasitism. These sacs can contain from 300 to 3000 eggs, depending on mating success and particular species. Once hatched, the spiderlings inhabit a communal web to begin their lives.


title: Nephila

text: "Nephila" spiders change their body positioning relative to the sun to maintain internal temperatures at an optimal level. As ambient temperatures increase, the spiders position themselves so the abdomen shades the cephalothorax from the sun. Spiders may also hang from their hind legs as a result of the heat due to a loss of hydrostatic pressure. Conversely, as temperatures cool down, the spiders position themselves perpendicular to the sun to retain as much heat energy as possible. When ambient temperatures reach extreme highs (above 40 °C), they may leave their webs and seek shade in the surrounding environment.


title: Nephila

text: Predation of "Nephila" species is relatively uncommon; when it does occur, the main group affected are the juvenile individuals. The major predators are birds, but wasps and damselflies also prey upon smaller juveniles.


title: Nephila

text: "Nephila" species are frequently parasitized by "Argyrodes", a genus of very small black-and-silver spiders that are kleptoparasitic. As many as a few dozen may infest a single "Nephila" web to feed from the host spider's captured prey. The frequent rebuilding or abandoning of webs by "Nephila" may be a tactic for controlling "Argyrodes". Spiny orb-weaver spiders of the genus "Gasteracantha" also inhabit the webs of "Nephila" as kleptoparasites.


title: Nephila

text: Egg sacs generally remain free from both predation and parasitism, often due to the close proximity of the mother and how well it is hidden.


title: Nephila

text: "Nephila" spiderlings leave the egg sac as a result of environmental cues, often warmer and wetter conditions in spring. They then live on a communal web, eating dead siblings and web debris for around a week before dispersing to make individual webs.


title: Nephila

text: Young spiders do not generally build yellow-colored silk, and the young themselves can be easily mistaken for young orchard spiders ("Leucauge") in general color and shape (both genera sport silver stripes or patches on their abdomens, described in some references as a form of heat control). The best distinction between "Leucauge" and "Nephila" juveniles is web structure: "Leucauge" species tend to build horizontal orbs that form a perfect circle, whereas "Nephila" species build vertical, elliptical orbs that are incomplete (missing the portion of the orb over the hub, the center where the spider sits). The latter seem to prefer more open habitat such as second-growth scrub or forest edges. Fences or building overhangs often do just as nicely.


title: Nephila

text: Once they are juvenile, "Nephila" spiders inhabit their individual webs, then begin their growth by the molting process. The time between molts is called an instar and seven to 12 of these can occur depending on food availability. Ecdysis, the shedding of the exoskeleton, occurs through the formation of a soft exoskeleton inside the current one. Once the old exoskeleton is shed, the new, larger one begins to harden. Ecdysis occurs when the spider's mass becomes too great for the current exoskeleton to support. Male spiders seek out females for copulation and live on their webs. When mating season arrives, both males and females stop molting and remain the same size for the remainder of their lives.


title: Nephila

text: The venom of the golden silk orb-weaver is effective in action on prey, but has not been reported to be of any notable consequence for humans if accidentally bitten. In the literature, "Nephila" is one of several genera where the venom "must be considered as more or less ineffectual in human beings". That said, the potentially large size of several members of the genus means that they possess relatively strong chelicerae, so any bite can cause some mechanical damage, but only of short-term localised effect for humans. However, further studies of the venom components are needed to better understand pathways associated with any toxicity.


title: Nephila

text: "Nephila" do not seem to form either beneficial or harmful relationships with humans. Females often construct their webs using human structures as a base for support strands due to their stability. Individuals are often found in urban and suburban environments due to the protection from predation and greater prey availability. As they weave their webs in bushes and near flowers, they might present a nuisance for gardeners or flower pickers. Some nests near fruits may repel or destroy known pests, such as Tephritid fruit flies, without the need to use insecticides. Spiders may bite humans if provoked but more often flee if confronted.


title: Nephila

text: There have been several efforts in the past to produce garments from "Nephila" silk although none commercially viable. These include two bed hangings that were shown at the 1900 Paris Exhibition.


title: Nephila

text: In 2004 a textile designer, Simon Peers, and an entrepreneur, Nicholas Godley managed in three years' work and using 1.2 million Golden silk orb-weavers (collected in the wild and released some 30 minutes later after they produced the silk) to produce a shawl that was exhibited at the American Museum of Natural History in 2009.


title: Nephila

text: By 2012 they managed to produce a second, bigger garment, a cape, that, together with the shawl, were exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Two shawls and a traditional Madagascan lamba made of this spider silk were included in an exhibition of curios from the natural world in 2021.


title: Nephila

text: Another possible use of "Nephila" silk lies in tissue engineering. A study from the Medizinische Hochschule Hannover reports that processed "Nephila" silk is an excellent scaffold material thanks to its biocompatibility, mechanical strengths, and its property to promote cell adhesion and proliferation. In particular, the silk acts as a suitable guiding material for peripheral nerve regrowth.


title: Nephila

text: Fishermen on the coasts of the Indo-Pacific ocean remove "Nephila" webs and form them into a ball, which is thrown into the water. There it unfolds and is used to catch bait fish.


title: Politics of the United Arab Emirates

text: Politics of the United Arab Emirates take place in a framework of a federal presidential elective constitutional monarchy (a federation of absolute monarchies). The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation of seven constituent monarchies: the Emirates of Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al-Quwain.


title: Politics of the United Arab Emirates

text: According to convention, the ruler of Abu Dhabi (Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan) is the President of the United Arab Emirates (despite holding the title of President, the country is not governed as a presidential republic) and the head of state, and the ruler of Dubai is the Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, the head of the government. Within the UAE, Dubai has considerable autonomy, and is under Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum's autocratic rule.


title: Politics of the United Arab Emirates

text: The UAE is an authoritarian state. The UAE has been described as a "tribal autocracy" where the seven constituent monarchies are led by tribal rulers in an autocratic fashion. There are no democratically elected institutions, and there is no formal commitment to free speech.


title: Politics of the United Arab Emirates

text: The discovery of oil in Abu Dhabi in 1958 and the country's subsequent oil wealth has defined its politics and economy, as well as shaped its foreign policy behavior.


title: Politics of the United Arab Emirates

text: Administratively, the UAE is a federation of seven emirates, each with its own ruler. The pace of local government reform in each emirate is set primarily by the ruler. Under the provisional constitution of 1971, each emirate reserves considerable powers, including control over mineral rights (notably oil) and revenues. In this milieu, federal powers have developed slowly as each Emirate already had its own existing institutions of government prior to the country's official foundation. The constitution of the United Arab Emirates separates powers into executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Additionally, legislative and executive powers are divided into federal and emirate jurisdictions.


title: Politics of the United Arab Emirates

text: The constitution of the United Arab Emirates established the positions of president (chief of state) and vice president and elected by the rulers of each of the emirates from within (the seven rulers comprise the Federal Supreme Council, which also has an elected chairman and a vice chairman each serving five-year terms); a Council of Ministers (cabinet), led by a prime minister (head of government); a supreme council of rulers; and a 40-member National Assembly (known as the Federal National Council), a consultative body whose members are partially appointed by the emirate rulers and partially elected; and an independent judiciary which includes the Federal Supreme Court. Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan was president of the UAE from its foundation until his death on November 2, 2004. His oldest son, Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, was president until his death May 13, 2022. On 14 May 2022, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan was elected as the UAE's new president after the death of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.


title: Politics of the United Arab Emirates

text: Under federal authority, responsibilities include foreign affairs, security and defense, nationality and immigration issues, education, public health, currency, postal, telephone and other communications services, air traffic control, licensing of aircraft, labour relations, banking, delimitation of territorial waters and extradition of criminals. Issues excluded from Articles 120 and 121 of the Constitution are to be under the jurisdiction of respective Emirates and are reaffirmed by Article 116 which states that: ‘the Emirates shall exercise all powers not assigned to the federation by this Constitution’. This is further reiterated by Article 122, which stated that ‘the Emirates shall have jurisdiction in all matters not assigned to the exclusive jurisdiction of the federation, in accordance with the provision of the preceding two Articles’.


title: Politics of the United Arab Emirates

text: The Federal Supreme Council consists of the individual rulers of the seven emirates. The President and Vice-President are elected by the Supreme Council every five years. Although unofficial, the Presidency is "de facto" hereditary to the Al Nahyan clan of Abu Dhabi and the Vice-Presidency (and "de facto" the Prime Minister post) is hereditary to the Al Maktoum clan of Dubai.


title: Politics of the United Arab Emirates

text: Article 47 of the UAE constitution defines the powers of the council's authority in formulation of general policy; legislation on all matters of state; ratification of federal laws and decrees, including those relating to budget and fiscal matters; ratification of international treaties and agreements; and appointment of the prime minister and Supreme Court judges. Decisions are made by majority vote unless relating to substantive issues which require a two-thirds majority vote (five out of seven rulers), which must include Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The Supreme Council also elects the Council of Ministers, while an appointed 40-member Federal National Council, drawn from all the emirates, reviews proposed laws.


title: Politics of the United Arab Emirates

text: The Cabinet of United Arab Emirates (also called the Council of Ministers, ) is a collegial body presided over by the prime minister. It consists of 22 members and is also headed by a prime minister (chosen by the president with consultation). The federal cabinet is the executive authority for the federation. Under the supreme control of the president and supreme council, it manages all internal and foreign affairs of the federation under its constitutional and federal laws. The cabinet consists of cabinet's chairman (Prime Minister of UAE) and two deputies and ministers. The general secretariat shall be handled by the secretary general of the cabinet.


title: Politics of the United Arab Emirates

text: The relative prestige and financial influence of each emirate is reflected in the allocation of positions in the federal government. The ruler of Abu Dhabi, whose emirate is the UAE's major oil producer, is president of the UAE. The ruler of Dubai, which is the UAE's commercial center and a former oil producer, is vice president and prime minister.


title: Politics of the United Arab Emirates

text: Since achieving independence in 1971, the UAE has worked to strengthen its federal institutions. Nonetheless, each emirate still retains substantial autonomy, and progress toward greater federal integration has slowed in recent years. A basic concept in the UAE government's development as a federal system is that a significant percentage of each emirate's revenues should be devoted to the UAE central budget.


title: Politics of the United Arab Emirates

text: Although complexity of local government differs depending on size and development of each emirate, most (such as Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah and Ajman) have their own executive councils chaired by their respective rulers and possessing various departments reflective of federal ministries. Various autonomous agencies also exist such as the Environment Agency, Tourism Authority, Authority for Culture and Heritage, and the Health Authority. Some emirates such as Abu Dhabi may also be divided into two municipalities (the Western and Eastern regions) and its main cities of Abu Dhabi and Al Ain are also administered by their own municipalities with a municipal council. Abu Dhabi and Sharjah also have their own National Consultative Councils with similar local duties and role as the Federal National Council.


title: Politics of the United Arab Emirates

text: It has long been regional tradition for rulers to hold open discussions with their people, be they common, merchants or the elite. Often, this forum is held by the emirate rulers as well as senior family members. This open majlis, or consultation, is held periodically; however, a ruler may also appoint an emir, or wali, to whom concerns may be directed by the general population when necessary. This individual is often considered a leading tribal figure whose trust is placed by his tribe as well as the ruler.


title: Politics of the United Arab Emirates

text: The Federal National Council ("al-Majlis al-Watani al-Ittihadi") is the UAE's legislative body and consists of 40 members. The body only has advisory powers. Twenty of the members are indirectly elected by the hand-picked 12% of Emirati citizens who have voting rights through an electoral college, while the other twenty are appointed by the rulers of each emirate. According to Reuters, "the process of selecting the people who can either elect or be elected is opaque."


title: Politics of the United Arab Emirates

text: The FNC is the main consultative body in the UAE and has both a legislative and supervisory role accorded by the Constitution.


title: Politics of the United Arab Emirates

text: Thani Abdullah Humaid, Taryam Omran Taryam, Hilal bin Ahmed bin Lootah, Al Haj bin Abdullah Al Muhairbi, Mohammed Khalifa Habtour, Saeed Mohammad Al Gandi, Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, Mohammad Al-Murr, and Amal Al Qubaisi since 2015.


title: Politics of the United Arab Emirates

text: The Federal Judiciary is a constitutionally completely independent body (under Article 94) and includes the Federal Supreme Court and Courts of First Instance. Supreme Council of Rulers appoints the five judges headed by a president to the Supreme Court. The judges are responsible for deciding if federal laws are constitutional, mediating between inter-emirate disputes. It also possesses the authority to try cases involving cabinet and senior federal officials. Although secular law is applied, the basis of legislation is Sharia (Islamic Law) and involves three of the four schools including (mainly) Maliki, but also the Hanbali and Shafi'i schools.


title: Politics of the United Arab Emirates

text: According to Jim Krane "The UAE’s rulers now maintain power and legitimacy by giving generous subsidies to their citizens, known as Emiratis, essentially buying their support. The majority is happy with this unspoken bargain, which holds sway in most of the Gulf. The sheikhs get public backing in return for improvements in living standards, including jobs, homes, health care, and education. Tribal autocracy is one of the oldest ways of organizing society and the only form of governance the UAE has ever known.


title: Politics of the United Arab Emirates

text: On 2 April 2021, 91-year-old German philosopher Jürgen Habermas rejected the Sheikh Zayed Book Award worth 750,000 UAE dirhams prize money. Habermas earlier accepted the award, but later called it “a wrong decision,” which he corrected by rejecting it in April 2021. In a critical statement, Habermas cited his previous unawareness of the fact that the awarding institution had close connections with the existing political system of the country, which is a dictatorship as cited in a 2020 report published by Amnesty International.


title: Politics of the United Arab Emirates

text: In early 2007, the United Arab Emirates launched the 'UAE Government Strategy' for the years ahead, which covered twenty-one topics in six different sectors including social development, economic development, public sector development, justice and safety, infrastructure and rural areas development. The initiative is meant to reevaluate and advance these sectors towards top global standards by facilitating better continuous cooperation between federal and local governments with increased efficiency, training, Emiratisaion, ministry empowerment, upgrading of services, improving civil service and legislation review.


title: Politics of the United Arab Emirates

text: Subsequently, Abu Dhabi announced implementation of its own policy to modernize public administration practices and government performance in 2007–2008. Plans for reevaluation were laid out in areas including economy, energy, tourism, health, education, labour, civil services, culture and heritage, good control, urban planning, transport, environment, health and safety, municipal affairs, police and emergency services, electronic government, women and legislative reform. Abu Dhabi hopes advancements towards global standards in these areas will improve the quality of services for its residents as well as attract future investment towards further modernizing the Emirate.


title: Politics of the United Arab Emirates

text: The country did not see the type of trouble other Arab countries saw during the Arab spring. There were minor protests, during which some people were arrested.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: The Boeing Model 307 Stratoliner (or Strato-Clipper in Pan American service, or C-75 in USAAF service) is an American stressed-skin four-engine low-wing tailwheel monoplane airliner derived from the B-17 Flying Fortress bomber, which entered commercial service in July 1940. It was the first airliner in revenue service with a pressurized cabin, which with supercharged engines, allowed it to cruise above the weather. As such it represented a major advance over contemporaries, with a cruising speed of at compared to the Douglas DC-3s , at then in service. When it entered commercial service it had to have a crew of five to six, including two pilots, a flight engineer, two flight attendants and an optional navigator, and had a capacity for 33 passengers, which later modifications increased, first to 38, and eventually to 60.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: In 1935, Pan American Airways, United Airlines, American Airlines, Eastern Air Lines and Transcontinental & Western Air (T&WA) had each signed a contract with Douglas to develop the 40 passenger DC-4 (later known as the DC-4E). Each company contributed $100,000 to development costs and agreed to not operate other aircraft with a maximum weight of for revenue service. Due to development problems and poor performance, all of the airlines dropped out of the DC-4 program and cancelled their orders, but a requirement for a large 4 engine airliner remained.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: D.W. Tommy Tomlinson at T&WA carried out five years of high altitude flight research, with a Northrop Gamma and a Douglas DC-1, which helped determine that T&WA would need a four-engine airliner with a pressurized cabin. During this period, He also test flew the XB-17 and determined that it would provide an ideal basis for an airliner, and so Boeing was approached with the idea. A ceiling of at least was required to avoid summertime "chop" over the Rocky Mountains, and to allow the aircraft to fly around the thunderstorms that can sometimes block mountain passes, which meant a pressurized cabin would be the most comfortable for passengers on long flights. In 1935, Boeing then designed a four-engine airliner using components from the Boeing Model 299 B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber as the Model 307. It combined the wings, tail, rudder, undercarriage, and engines from the B-17 with a new, much larger pressurized circular cross-section fuselage with a maximum diameter of .


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: The pressurization system required extensive testing, which was carried out over many months, progressively increasing the air pressure after each successful test, and each time, the highly polished fuselage was coated with soapy water while the fuselage pressurized, for workers to look for the bubbles that would indicate a leak, much like testing a bicycle inner tube.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: Before the first aircraft had rolled out, T&WA's chief engineer discovered that the extruded metal tubing used for the wing spars was defective, which was discovered was as a result of stress corrosion cracks from cold rolling the tubing to increase tensile strength. Affected aircraft included the prototype, the first Pan Am machine, and some early production B-17s, and resulted in T&WA having to have their engineers manually inspect every tube that was to be incorporated into their aircraft.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: The first aircraft completed, registration "NX19901", crashed on March 18, 1939. while being demonstrated after having been recently fitted with instruments to measure flight control forces. The Boeing 307 took off at 1257hrs (local time) from Boeing Field in Seattle with ten occupants, and they climbed to an altitude of where stability tests were made and while carrying out side-slips near Alder, the aircraft stalled and entered a spin. It made two to three turns before the pilot was able to stop the spin using the engines, however the ensuing high speed dive and the forces that resulted from attempting to pull up before hitting the ground, resulted in the left outer wing tearing off with one engine still attached, followed by the right wing, just outside the outer engine, both of which also tore off parts of the tail after aileron cables pulled them against the fuselage, which then caused the aircraft to pancake into a forested area at 1317hrs. All ten aboard were killed, which included T&WA's representative, KLM's technical director, a Dutch Air Ministry representative, Boeing's test pilot, as well as their Chief Aerodynamicist and their Chief Engineer. Parachutes were available but the force of the spin prevented their use.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: The crash delayed the program by over a year, beginning with a three-month investigation by the US Civil Aeronautics Authority, the precursor to the current Federal Aviation Administration, and Boeing to determine the causes. Flight and wind tunnel testing showed that both an extended dorsal fin and an enlarged vertical tail were needed to prevent the rudder stalling in a yaw, and solutions, including an intermediate solution consisting of just an extended dorsal fin, were flight tested on "NC19903", and also incorporated into the redesign of the rear fuselage of the B-17E bomber. The wings were reinforced and Handley Page slots were added to the outer wing leading edges to improve low speed aileron control, and the inboard flaps were extended. The first several aircraft, including NC19902, NC19903, and NC19904 were rolled out with the small tail and then modified later.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: Test flights resumed on May 19, 1939, after the changes had been incorporated, and on June 20, 1939, the first flight was made with the "supercharged cabin" pressurization system on.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: On March 13, 1940, Approved Type Certificate (ATC) number 719 was assigned to the Pan Am Boeing 307s, allowing commercial deliveries to commence. A second ATC was issued for the TWA aircraft, number 726, due to the numerous differences between the Pan Am and T&WA aircraft.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: T&WA was concerned about excessive undercarriage stiffness from their experience with the test flights with the XB-17, which were to be modified for the airliner. T&WA flight tested the modified undercarriage, and in hard landings, easily exceeded the contract's minimum required descent rate with a successful landing descent.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: T&WA was also concerned about the engine carburetor intake heaters being deliberately restricted by Boeing to prevent cooking the engines, which could potentially leave crews unable to clear ice. Their point was made when icing problems during a test flight on May 17, 1940, with NC19905, while carrying dignitaries in overcast conditions in the mountains resulted in three of the four engines failing, while the fourth was losing power, despite every measure being taken to clear the ice, which resulted in the aircraft making a belly landing in a field with a partially lowered undercarriage, just south of Lamar, Colorado. T&WA then modified the carburetor heating themselves and the aircraft was repaired and returned to service.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: Boeing made claims both in their period advertising and in their current web site that it was the first high-altitude commercial transport, and the first with a flight engineer. However its first flight on December 31, 1938, was later than that of the Renard R-35, which flew on April 1, 1938, and which also had a pressurized cabin for passengers. As for employing a flight engineer, it was preceded in the US on a commercial aircraft by the Maddux Air Lines Ford Trimotors whose "Mate" had the same responsibilities as a flight engineer. Also, all of the German World War One Riesenflugzeug multi-engine bombers had flight engineers as they were integral to the specification.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: As built, the Stratoliner used the all-metal stressed-skin cantilever wings from the B-17C mounted low on the fuselage to a constant chord center section faired to the fuselage, with four Wright GR-1820 Cyclone air-cooled radial engines. TWA examples used GR-1820-G105A engines fitted with two stage superchargers for high altitude performance, while the Pan Am examples used the GR-1820-G102 with a single stage supercharger. Engine exhaust collector rings designed to reduce noise, and exhaust mufflers were installed. TWA aircraft were fitted with cowl flaps, to adjust engine cooling air, while Pan Am aircraft had fixed cowling rings without cowling gills. When operating in cooler conditions, the Pan Am aircraft could be fitted with a blanking disk that covered part of the front of the engine. Both versions had sufficient power to maintain altitude on only two engines, one of the KLM requirements. Both used three bladed Hamilton Standard Hydromatic constant speed propellers, and new high octane fuels were developed to help the engines operate under the increased supercharger pressure. Both versions had trailing edge flaps controlled with electric motors, although SA-307B for T&WA and the SB-307B for Hughes featured slotted flaps with prominent external hinges, while the Pan Am examples had simpler split flaps with flush hinges, similar to those used on the B-17s. All of the fuel was carried in the wings, with a tank mounted between the inboard nacelle and the fuselage, and a main fuel tank as well as a fuel tank located between the inner and outer nacelles, on both sides of the aircraft, providing a total of of fuel in six tanks. With the fuselage being wider than on the B-17, the span had increased from to compared to early B-17s. After being modified, the SA-307B-1s used the wings and elevators from the B-17G with split flaps, and Cyclones. On most, but not all examples, the leading edges of the wings, horizontal stabilizer and fin were fitted with rubber expanding type de-icing boots, which would inflate and deflate repeatedly to break ice from the flying surfaces. All movable surfaces, including the rudder, ailerons and elevators had fabric over a metal structure, and were aerodynamically balanced and fitted with adjustable trim tabs to lighten flight loads. The rudder and elevators also had hydraulic boost, to lighten control forces. The partially retractable main undercarriage had hydraulic brakes and used Goodyear 55x19x23 tires, and was raised and lowered with electric motors. Manual backups were provided for electrically driven systems, but the power had to be turned off before being used. A parking brake was provided, along with an emergency air brake system run off a bottle of compressed air, while the tailwheel was fully retractable.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: The fuselage was described as being dirigible shaped, and was an elongated teardrop, with a constant diameter tube lengthening it at its widest point. The circular section fuselage was of all metal construction, skinned with 24ST Alclad and capable of maintaining a cabin pressure equivalent to when flying at a altitude, and a cabin pressure when at , with a maximum pressure difference of . The structure was designed with strength reserves so as to handle as much as , but a pressure relief valve prevented the pressure difference from exceeding . The structure consisted of continuous longitudinal stiffeners spaced every 9 degrees around the fuselage with radial hoop stiffeners mounted every along the fuselage, reinforcing the similarity to a dirigible. The skin seams were sealed with tape impregnated with sealing compound trapped between lapped joints which were secured with two rows of rivets spaced apart, while doors and hatches were sealed with soft rubber gaskets and control cables entered the pressurized cabin through specially developed glands designed to allow free movement of the cables, with a negligible amount of air leakage. The main cockpit windows were made from thick safety glass, while the rest of the windows were made of Plexiglass or Lucite sealed into rubber channels A large ram-air scoop on the cabin roof was provided to supply cooling air while at lower altitudes, and was shut off when the cabin was pressurized at higher altitudes.