Reading the world airliner directory (Flight International, 5-11 November) raises the subject of "If it looks good, it flies well". It's almost always been my (subjective) view that that is a true statement, but I wonder whether there are any ratios which bear it out, such as length to wingspan or length to height.
Why, for instance, do I find the Boeing 757 so much better in bad weather than the 767, the Airbus A320 so much better than the A319 (and, surprisingly, than the A321), the Boeing 737-400 so much better than the 737-200, the McDonnell Douglas DC-8 so much better than the Boeing 707, and so on?
Is there a correlation to looks and balance within the numbers?
John Wallinger Upton Grey, Hampshire, UK
Source: Flight International
