More ATA Airlines

Aviation photo gallery 3, takes a look inside the ATA Airlines Indianapolis Maintenace hangar. Aircraft N194AT, the Lockheed L-1011, had recently received the ATA "swatch" paint scheme. On the other hand, the Boeing 757, N514AT, was undergoing maintenance and is seen in the "palm tree" paint scheme. Then, there's the McDonell Douglas DC-10 - at the time with minimal paint changes from the Northwest Airlines colors.

California is the location of most of the aerial photos. Cultivated farm land in the Modesto area is seen from aloft. Mountains near San Jose are seen to block the passage of moist air blowing in from the Pacific Ocean. Note that clouds and rain form where the air is orographic lift. Air dries and re-warms as it goes downhill on the leeward side of the ridges. Speaking of dry air, there is a smoky image from the more and more frequent brush fires in that state. Far from California, there is a night picture from overhead Baghdad, Iraq.

My favorite photos on this page are from Hilo, Hawaii's very tranquil "Japanese Park" and the Boeing 757 used by the Barack Obama presidential campaign. ATA Airlines flew numerous charters for the Democrats early in the campaign, then the flying was abruptly moved to North American Airlines. I have frequently seen the Barack Obama campaign jet here in Chicago. His aircraft is a nice change of scenery from the main user of Midway Airport, known to me as "The Borg." Change we can believe in!!

One former ATA pilot, Brian "Bee" Settles, wrote a riveting account of his life as a Vietnam era fighter pilot, highlighting sociopolitical conflicts still echoing today.Though ATA is gone, its people are out there in the world. In fact, they are all over the world - flying planes, teaching groundschools, writing books, and (in the Webmaster's case), building websites.

Tags: ATA Airlines, Boeing 757, Boeing 737, ATA Airlines L-1011, ATA Airlines DC-10