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It was a compelling read up to the end, then It left me wanting. I think its because it reads like an article, which should make a point or conclusion but was infact more like a Quora entry.

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If you're looking for more, I strongly recommend "The Road to the 707." A thoroughly well researched book that explains why under-wing engines don't cause the apparent wing thickness to be too large (engines are in fact in front of the wings [1]). It's one of my favorite technology development books.

[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_707#/media/File%3AB_7...

Ordered a copy, thanks for this

The main point is that airplane design is a trade off, and airliners are very heavily focused on fuel economy while smaller private jets have other considerations. For fuel economy you want high bypass engines and those have a big diameter (hence why the 737 MAX had issues getting the larger engines to fit). All other design limitations are getting less relevant for airliners because airports by now are well equipped.

All of this isn't really news, the industry has been moving in this direction for a long time.

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