Air France Concorde F-BVFA

Built by Aerospatiale of France and BAC of Britain, the Concorde was promised to be the future of aviation when it began service in 1976.  It could fly at 1350 miles per hour, cutting travel times in half, and definitely looked quite distinctive.  But the Concorde ran into several problems once it started flying, namely its loud sonic boom, poor fuel economy, and small passenger capacity (only 100 passengers in a cramped cabin).  After it was retired in 2003, Air France Concorde F-BVFA was donated to the Smithsonian and put on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.