pheasant under glass

... in the late 60's and early 70's, the race was on between rivals Boeing and Airbus, the world's two largest aerospace manufacturers, to build the first ever supersonic passenger transport jet. Despite the fact that Boeing was getting government funds for their version of SST, Airbus finished the Concorde first. By 1971, US funding stopped, Boeing was forced to scrap the project and local economy took a massive downturn with tens of thousands of layoffs, prompting billboard ads to pop up around town, "Will the last person leaving Seattle please turn out the lights?" Boeing was to later focus on more lucrative projects such as the NASA lunar rover and the 747, but the momentum was to never be the same for the aircraft giant...

... over a quarter-century later, British Airways has donated one of its recently retired Concorde supersonic airliners to stay as a permanent fixture at the Museum of Flight in Seattle. The jet, one of only twenty Concordes ever built, is the only one on display on the West Coast and one of only four outside Europe. Construction crews are hard at work expanding the Museum to accommodate its latest showpiece. Ironically, the airliner now sits just a few city blocks from the same plant that once housed the SST prototype promising to "usher in a new century of world travel... "

... talk about a slap in the face...