I agree. If you want a plane which waterfalls very fast, get one with a very short nose so the engine will be very close to the CG.

Most guys already realize that putting the servos out on the wing dampens the rolls. This is good and bad. The pattern guys don't like over-rotations caused by the wing roll inertia.

Now that 3D is here, guys are starting to realize the pitch axis is also a factor as is the yaw, so it pays to get all the weight near the CG.

This translates into a design which has very light structures, and centrally mounted components.