After 30 years of flying passengers at twice the speed of sound, the Concorde is joining the Wright flyer, Charles Lindbergh's "Spirit of St. Louis," and other aviation treasures at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington.
An Air France Concorde roared into Dulles airport in suburban Virginia on Thursday and headed for its new home at the museum's companion facility adjacent to the airport. The Steven F Udvar-Hazy Center opens in December.
The French airline officially retired its Concorde fleet in May, while British Airways -- the only other airline that offers supersonic flights -- will end its service in October.
Although Concordes fly at 1,300 mph (2,100 kph) and can make a trans-Atlantic trip in three hours, the demand for Concorde service has fallen in recent years while the costs of operating the fleet have risen sharply.
