Gary,
I'm with you on not being sure that there is a true advantage for the wasp waisted or "expanding width" fuselages. The Bird of Prey seems to be holding its own among current designs.
Even though I borrowed the shape that I used on the Smasher fuselage primarily from the Lancairs and Cirrus SR-20/22, I did some little things that I hope make it at least competitive.
Ed and Bill,
I'd be delighted.
Almost everything I've seen in R/C modeling related to aerodynamics, I've previously seen in full scale aircraft. These profile and flat foamie 3D planes are the only exceptions I can think of.
I learned to fly in a fleet of 3 Cherokee 140's. All were 150 hp planes made in the same year. Even so, they all were a little different and had their own personalities. One had a "climb prop" and was the preferred plane on hot high density altitude days, even though it was the rattiest of the three. None of the Cherokees are optimized for speed as they all have protruding head rivets. But the design has proven itself.
Here are a couple of quotes from the June 2004 Plane & Pilot magazine in an article entitled "An Enthushiast Cherokee" by Bill Cox the Senior Editor.
After all, the airplane made its reputation based on a docile stall and some of general aviation's most benign flying qualities. The littlest Cherokees have always been regarded as among the gentlest of trainers, so universally respected for their predictable manners that some instructors actually criticize them for being too easy to fly.
Stalls in a Cherokee 140 almost aren't stalls. Pull the power off, ease the nose 15 degrees above the horizon, and the airplane's eventual reaction will be a little more than a gentle nose-bobbing up and down as the wing alternately stalls and unstalls. If the airplane is properly rigged and symmetrically loaded, you can sit there with the yoke against the back stop, mushing slowly downhill with good rudder control and even a semblance of aileron response until you run out of altitude.
Landings deserve credit for making the Cherokee legendary. Like the airplane itself, they're sheer simplicity. A full flap stall is well below 50 knots, so a 65 knot approach speed works well. The wing is so predictable and the gear so forgiving that the Cherokee may be the easiest landing airplane in general aviation.
Does that sound like a poorly designed or poorly flying airplane? Interestingly enough, the Cherokees use a laminar flow airfoil with the maximum thickness somewhere between 40-50% of the chord. They are not speed demons, but that is not because of poor design. They are utility aircraft and have exposed rivet heads on the wing and the fuselage. The airplane in the article referenced picked up 12 knots with an improved exhaust system, and some speed mods from Laminar Flow of Daytona Beach to clean up draggy areas around protrusions.
Frank