A road case, ATA case or flight case is a shipping container specifically built to protect musical instruments, motion picture equipment, audio and lighting production equipment, properties, firearms, or other sensitive equipment when it must be frequently moved between locations by ground or air. Many varying-sized road cases can be built to outfit the needs of an entire concert tour, or custom designed individually for a specific industry or product. The term road case is mostly used in the United States and implies that the case is primarily for road-based travel, unlike a flight case. The term originates from its use for storing and shipping band equipment while the musicians were on the road. History The history of flight case design is based on an airplane parts packaging specification. It was designed by airline packaging engineers. The specification is ATA 300 Category I. ATA is the A4A (Airlines for America) International, formerly the Air Transport Association of America located in Washington, D.C. and consists of members like Boeing, Airbus, FedEx, American, United, and JetBlue. ATA 300 Category I cases are designed to withstand a minimum of 100 round trips, Category II containers a minimum of 10 round trips, and Category III containers 1 round trip as defined to also include the return of a replacement part. Because of visibility requirements during nighttime airline operations, the recommended color of reusable cases is white, but the requirement is waived to permit a carrier's traditional or logo colors except for very dark colors. The first ATA 300 spec was published on August 1, 1960. Construction Most cases are fabricated from panels joined by metal or plastic extrusions, molded plastic, or metal. Fabricated cases are typically made from panels constructed of two layers. An outer layer of ABS or fiberglass laminate is adhered to a middle layer of lightweight cabinet-grade plywood such as birch, poplar, or maple. These two layers are known as laminate panel, and high-grade cases are made from composite material. Inside the case, an internal shock-absorbing filler such as polyurethane or polyethylene foam has cavities that correspond to the shape of the components it is preserving. Alternate shock protection methods include mounting the case contents to racks or panels attached to the case walls with shock isolators. The corners of fabricated cases are commonly reinforced with stamped sheet steel case corners commonly finished in zinc, nickel, chrome. The term ATA case