Not a jobs program: corporate welfare for the aviation industry. Well, I guess its the same thing, it all depends on who's selling it and whether the critic is conservative or liberal.

Whatever the reason the SST got canceled, it's a good thing it did. Other than politics it was a turkey which should never have flown. It meant little to anyone except aviation buffs and those destined to profit mightily from its state-subsidized construction and operation. The Concorde proved it was a financial loser, incapable of paying for itself with real customers even if it was a technical triumph.

The fact that you could cut airline travel time in half means little when most of the time devoted to flight is spent getting to and from the boarding gate. Only on really long trips is there really a substantial time savings and there is an enormous operating cost penalty per passenger. Airlines make their big profits off high-volume flights, quick turnarounds on short routes, and reduced maintenance and fuel costs; exactly the kinds of planes we're building now. The SSTs failed in all three categories.

But they sure were pretty...