Ok, this is a pretty old thread tat I found wilst doing some lookingup ont eh Beechcraft starship, but one thing you all seem to have over looked is the fact that the torque box for a Hor-Stab
is quite substantial and to have this near the flight deck is quite impractical and a regualr aircraft.
That is no doubt why they are all placed at the aft end of the fuselage. Of course there are exceptions, avanti, starship and The Wright Brothers Flyer!!! Tail first config.
Hay Ewe