Do Fairings Make The Craft Aerodynamic?

[Apollo13]

Background: I last played KSP in August 2013. A recent Manley video on MCE got me interested in KSP again. I see there have been a lot of improvements. The best one is that "moar struts" are no longer needed. I'm glad spacecraft parts counts no longer require struts to be half the count.

So, back in August, aerodynamics did not matter. Fairings, such as Procedural Fairings, and such were purely cosmetic. Has that changed? Do fairings help? Do they make the craft more aerodynamic to burn less fuel?

Edited May 19, 2014 by Apollo13

[Sirrobert]

Nope, aerodynamics hasn't changed yet.

Unless you install mods for it offcourse. FAR is good for that

[phoenix_ca]

This thread covers it in some more detail, and with some amusement. A fun read either way.

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/52080-Basic-Aircraft-Design-Explained-Simply-With-Pictures

[Apollo13]

Thank you for the quick responses. I'll take another look at FAR. Thanks to phoenix's link there is a discussion concerning fairings that answers the question.