Steve,

The King Altair is the same way in regard to inverted engine placement--it was designed for, and looks great inverted, but sticks out a mile when side-mounted. The downside are the little problems associated with inverted mounting--use of a remote glow driver, removing and installing plugs is a pain, and there is a thing called "hydro-lock" that you have to watch for, where fuel flows into the engine and keeps it from turning over. I have to make sure it is free each time, (or get smarter and clamp the line), before using the starter--otherwise possible engine damage, and my arm coming off. I'm building two Altairs, one to plans, and the other with Jack Dunn's SPA-type mods. I'm mounting the "stock" Altair's engine inverted---haven't quite decided yet on the other one. But for looks, inverted is best hands down.