Rights for disabled How disappointing it was to read in the article "Hollow victory for airlines over passenger rights" (Flight International, 22-28 June) that a proposed bill of rights for disabled air passengers has been postponed because of "significant opposition" from airline groups over the extra burden on air transport. It goes on to say that the European Regions Airline Association has led the call for an end to "discrimination against air transport". Airlines (quite correctly) speak out vociferously when air transport is discriminated against, yet when attempts are made to stop them discriminating against disabled passengers they hide behind the totally unacceptable excuse that it would cost too much to provide disabled passengers with the same basic rights as everyone else.
It is high time that air transport was forced to provide equal access to all passengers. If that means that I, an able-bodied passenger, have to pay a bit more for my ticket, then I would be happy to do so. As for Ryanair charging a disabled passenger to use a wheelchair to get round an airport a few months ago, that was just disgusting. I wonder how Michael O'Leary or the manager of the airport concerned would feel if on entry to the airport they were told that they had to pay a fee to walk round it. Somehow I don't think that they would be very happy. Geraint Hayward Uxbridge, Middlesex, UK
BWB? check history books Your report (Flight International, 13-19 July) on blended wing body control research highlights how we can forget the past. You write that the European blended wing (BWB) researchers have spent three years finding out that such aircraft need larger surfaces at the trailing edge, and that the problem is "an issue of finding adequate locations for control surfaces". Really? How much did that gem cost to discover? A cheaper option would have been to have read a history book. Therein, the work of the Horten brothers would have provided all the answers for free. Between 1935 and 1945 the Hortens created flying wings and blended wing body craft - gliders followed by advanced commercial and military jet transports. Such designs featured large split trailing-edge elevons and, uniquely, wingtips that rotated vertically at low speed to provide an early winglet-type rudder. Canard effect under-leading edge "rudder bars" also contributed to solving yaw/pitch problems. A unique linking of all these surfaces provided an early auto-stability system via a central control device. Yet apparently modern research has "identified" the issue. Money well spent then... As with so many things in aviation, it's all happened before. Lance Cole Swindon, Wiltshire, UK
Source: Flight International