An American Airlines DC-2, its wing flaps and wheels down for

landing, descends toward the runway of a typical western United

States airport under brilliant but cloud-filled skies in the mid-

1930s. Awaiting clearance for takeoff are a Ford Tri-motor

operated by TWA (left foreground) and an American Airlines

Curtiss Condor biplane (left background); another DC-2 sits in

front of the passenger terminal at right. This authentically detailed

scene from the formative years of air travel was painted in oils

especially for The Airline Builders by the distinguished aviation

artist Frank Wootton.