I'm designing my stunt ship for 2027, and here are the outlines I've come up with for the fuselage. Wing and horizontal tail is finalized. These are simply the 3 versions of the fuselage that I've narrowed things down to.

The top is the original design.
The middle is with a redesigned cowl shape and fin/rudder.
The bottom is the same as the middle, except the top block is lowered by 1/4".

I'm kind of leaning towards the middle version, as the bottom seems....flat, and the top is going to present a few more challenges when building, I think.

Steve

I think it's going to come down to personal preference, and color schemes.  I like the chunky nose on the bottom two, but I could see that svelte-nosed top one looking better with a decent complimentary paint job.

Might be time to import it into Photoshop or InkScape and play with all three to see what they look like _after_ they get colored in.

Or -- literally -- print those out and grab some crayons or colored markers.

I like the top, original version the best. Move the canopy forward to over the high point of the wing and you'll end up with something very similar to what I've been staring at since 2021 

...maybe that's why I like the top version best!

This old man likes the middle version.

I looked at the pictures before reading the description to see if I could find the differences.  They are subtle, but I like the middle with curved cowl and rounded rudder bottom.

The CG location seems close to the leading edge to me.  Is that the true position?

Any of the three would be a nice-looking plane!

Quote from: Steve Thompson on May 29, 2026, 11:16:28 PMThe CG location seems close to the leading edge to me.  Is that the true position?

The CG marker is just a place holder for now. The ship will be electric, so I'm expecting a further forward CG than normal, but you are correct, that is pretty far forward at present.

Quote from: Steve Thompson on May 29, 2026, 11:16:28 PMAny of the three would be a nice-looking plane!

Thanks. It's basically my re-imagined Genesis 35 "mannequin" with different "clothes" on it. Same moments and within a few percentage points for area. A little Reno racer influence and my current obsession with using splines in AutoCAD to make really nice sweeping curves that flow into one another. I, myself, am torn between the top (original) and the middle versions, and was just wanting some outside opinions to help me decide.

Thank you all.

Steve

The Gieseke "Bump" is a perfect place for an exhaust tunnel to exit.  I vote for #1.

Ken

I agree with what Matt said. 💯

Alright, I had a chance to try a few different things. The 2 on the right are pretty much the same as the top two before, except the lower (was middle) version has the canopy moved forward to the high point of the wing (actually starts right at the high point). The three on the left are: top is the same...no change, middle is right-hand column bottom version with original cowl shape, and the bottom version is virtually the same but with slight styling differences to the fin/rudder (sort of a cross between the original fin/rudder and the reshaped version of the middle version).


The more I look at it, the more I'm thinking the left-hand column, middle version is the one to go with.

Steve

I am in favor of the first one.   If you, or anyone else ever wants to put a pipe in it they will appreciate the little extra space.  The larger side area is also visually more impressive in the air- aka the Bear.

Dave

Speaking as a "non-stunt" guy, they all seem to have the appearance of the aft fuselage "drooping" or not being horizontally aligned with the front half. I would think that if the horizontal stab is positioned properly, it wouldn't affect the flight qualities. However, will it change the judges' perception of a corner? A carefully selected trim scheme could probably overcome the illusion. Just thinkin' out loud....

Final version.

Again, top version is the original.

Middle is the one I'm strongly leaning towards - canopy both shifted forward to starting at wing highpoint and lengthened to increase the size of the canopy.

Bottom is canopy shifted forward, but still original size, and it has a slightly restyled cowl.

All three versions have a "pipe tunnel," even though they are being designed as electric. That "tunnel" is for cooling air purposes, only. Well, maybe for looks, too.

Steve

Quote from: bill bischoff on June 01, 2026, 07:09:13 PMSpeaking as a "non-stunt" guy, they all seem to have the appearance of the aft fuselage "drooping" or not being horizontally aligned with the front half. I would think that if the horizontal stab is positioned properly, it wouldn't affect the flight qualities. However, will it change the judges' perception of a corner? A carefully selected trim scheme could probably overcome the illusion. Just thinkin' out loud....

Bill I think the illusion stems from the little bit of sub-rudder at the back bottom.   It does appear as you are saying.   That will likely vanish in flight and full size.   Perhaps the designer might remove it?  It is not really going to serve a purpose as is.

Dave

Quote from: Dave_Trible on June 02, 2026, 04:50:03 PMBill I think the illusion stems from the little bit of sub-rudder at the back bottom.   It does appear as you are saying.   That will likely vanish in flight and full size.   Perhaps the designer might remove it?  It is not really going to serve a purpose as is.

Dave

It would simplify things a bit if I did eliminate the sub-rudder. It's really only there for looks, not function. That means it may need to be eliminated, since it's along for the ride, only, and adds to tail weight....definitely worth thinking about.

Steve