Old Aero Guy:
I'll ignore your last sentence since I can't be sure you intended it as it sounded.
I like your description of the need for high lift devices on both canard and wing. You make a good argument and I'll come back to that in a bit... You're losing something in the fuel vs C of G and center of lift argument though...
As in most beasts of this kind, the bulk of the fuel would be in the wing center section and inboard sections of the wing. In flight the c of g needs to be kept where the center of lift is. The wing will obviously be placed such that, that will work for the canard design. Without the books at hand, I'd guess that to be somewhere pretty close to the main wing root, depending on things like sweep angle and ratio of wing area to canard area. I can't see how it wouldn't be possible to manage the fuel burnt from a trim tank in the canard, the center wing section, the wing root tanks and outer wing tanks so as to maintain the c of g. In fact, doesn't the Concorde do just that? Except that because of it's very thin and unusual wing it has umpteen bloody tanks. And I think fore and aft trim tanks!
So I'm not buying that part of your argument.
Back to the leading edges and trailing edge flaps... One of the smallest wings I've ever seen had one of the simplest designs for leading edge devices, and I think(?) that was an F5. (a small fighter in the colours of the US Thunderbirds) It had a simple spring loaded slat the length of the wing. In flight, when the angle of attack was increased to a point where the aerodynamic forces would allow the spring pressure to overcome the air pressure on the nose of the slat, it'd pop out and then aerodynamic forces kept it out until angle of attack decreased sufficiently again... I mention this only to illustrate the potential for simplicity. Such a device couldn't be a high maintenance item I wouldn't think. As for flaps, yep, I guess if you've got to have them, then you've got to maintain them. But there are some reasonably simple flap designs as well. Look at the DC10 for instance.
How did Rutan deal with these puzzles? How well does the Beech Starship perform in terms of efficiency I wonder?
I think the only airplane design I ever saw in a popular mechanics mag was an "aerocar"... it was pretty funny.
[This message has been edited by 3holelover (edited 10 February 2001).]