Hi Gareth.

The question for me is not "how" it is more "why". You are rigth: from the point of design it looks very good.
But sorry, as an old airplanbuilder I have more the aerodynamic look. My english is not good enaugth to explaine you all the secrets
of laminar flow but a good example to compare is the Northrop T 18. You can google some pictures of it.

The inlet stream is properly separeted from the turbular airflow over the fuselage with a little shield.
The inlet hole cut the airstream like a knife and has no direkt connection to the fuselage.
You can see a distance between the inlet and the fuselage.
The engeneers of Northrop made this to have a straigth nearly uneffected laminar airflow to the engine.
It looks like that there is a sharp corner at the inlet aerea of your plane. It will produce a lot of turbulence inside on the way to the engine.
This turbulence minimize the breathing capacity of your engine. More laminar aerflow to the engine - more power.
In every case the turbulence inside the tube to the engine may not be so bad that the engine quit it´s work.
The sharp corners along the frontside of the fuselage have also it´s secrets. If you fly this plane with a high angle of attack this corners
produce a lot vortexes that may have an influence of the rudderfunktion.

The best message to you is that with Moi you are able to redesign this plane for better and safer flying.

Hope to see you at the EAA airconvention with your private jet in the next years

Hans