> BTW looking at this Lancair @ RR pushed me over the edge

Ron...yes, the Lancair gets to the heart of the matter IMO...at least  
for the aesthetics...and Erich's & Troy's results clean things up a  
bit but don't attempt to address the underlying issue.

I would think it would be clear enough to any observer that on the  
Europa, little attention was given to the fuse/wing intersection in  
terms of aerodynamics...the designers were surely focused on ensuring  
that the detachable wing function be as straightforward as possible,  
and I suspect that simplicity of the kit components, both from a  
manufacturing standpoint as well as from that of the kitbuilder/ 
customer, played a role in the final configuration.

The "research" I did on interference drag indicated that w/ a  
continuous small radius at the intersection aft of the max. thickness  
of the wing (in our case at the spar)...when you take into account the  
angle of incidence AND the decreasing depth of the wing as one moves  
aft, a cavity of low pressure is created into which airflow from both  
the fuselage side as well as the top wing surface is sucked...this in  
turn creates a drag inducing vortex. I also learned that interference  
drag increases w/ the square of the airspeed.

By increasing the radius of the intersection aft of the spar, as  
indicated by my posted photos of the formers used, the intention of  
preventing that cavity from forming is realized, hence the  
improvements in efficiency indicated by (our minimal and perfunctory)  
flight tests, as well as the experience Justin Kennedy describes w/  
the mono.

In any event, I ended up devoting three solid months to making my  
master part, plus additional time to create the lower surface pieces  
and to scope out the method I used for breaking up the fairing w/  
portions bonded to wing, flap, and fuselage...witness lines were then  
scribed into the mold for those who wish to follow the configuration I  
used. Jeff B. plans to mount his entirely on the wing, and of course  
Frans used an approach suitable for allowing for the long wing  
conversion option.

To sum up, I was troubled by the stock set up...figured this was the  
last plane I would ever build...and opted to try to make it a little  
nicer.

More could be done of course...e.g., de-couple the flaps and  
outriggers, bring in some linear induction motors to operate the  
outriggers, allow the beautiful wing root fairing to be in one piece  
when the ships being admired by onlookers on the ground...Is there no  
end?...(egad!)

Fred