Aircraft: Flight of the Fast Bird

In the eyes of the British and the French, the Concorde supersonic jet that made its maiden flight last week is far more than the newest transport to take to the air. The plane is a gamble for enormous stakes; Paris and London together have invested more than $1.5 billion in the plane, nearly triple the original estimate, and have budgeted $600 million more for initial production. On the Concorde rides much of the future of the aeronautical industries of both France and Britain, as well as the possibility of further industrial partnerships between the two countries. Sales of the...