Sir - Airbus Industrie is glad to see the interest that the A3XX is creating among Flight International readers. This is reflected in the recent proposals for the wing arrangement which we have read in your magazine.
Since the mid-1980s, during the development of the A3XX, various configurations were evaluated for safety, efficiency, airline requirements and passenger accommodation.
As a result, we did not select a high- or mid-mounted wing because of the difficulties which emerged in complying with ditching and emergency-evacuation requirements and complicated wing and landing-gear integration, together with the loss of valuable cabin space.
JEAN-JACQUES HUBER
Vice-president engineering
Large Aircraft Division
Airbus Industrie
Toulouse, France
Source: Flight International
