Highwing or Lowwing?
Since we are on the low wing subject!!!!
I flew a low wing conventional tail airplane for many years, it was my variation of the DoddGer, (which was very competitive). Every version I built I put in ZERO dihedral. My wings were flat and the airplane grooved much better. Dihedral causes the airplane to roll flat.
The biggest difference I noticed with a high wing V-tail is the way the airplane lands, (they are not really high wing airplanes they are more shoulder wing airplanes). Take off: depending on the amount of rudder you have on your V-tail it could cause the airplane to balloon on take-off. If you are experience this condition try reducing the rudder throw. Also, on landing if the gear is in the fuse rather than the wing you tend to do less damage to the all important wing when you have a rough landing (another plus for the high wing V-Tail). As far as take off with a low wing, I never noticed any difference (other than too much rudder syndrome on my V-tail), we fly low wing QM-40's all the time and don't see any problems, a quickee shouldn't be any different. I don't have much experience with the Low wing/V-tail configuration so I don't want to comment on that.
Why do the Vortex and molded composite airplanes go so fast??
It has alot to do with airfoils and the surface quality of the wings. NOT TO MENTION THE GUYS MOVING THE STICKS!!! Because the airplanes are molded, the trim factor is also minimal. A straight airplane that flies good is always faster.
So what is better??? I honestly believe that you can have a conventional airplane set up correctly be just as competitive as a high wing V-Tail. Just because I made that statement doesn't mean I am going to crack out the drawings of my old low wing airplane and fly it. I like the way the high wing V-Tail's fly and will continue to fly them.
Dan