Help w/ siting fruit trees

Hi Permies,

A friend recently acquired a property in Sullivan County NY - Growing Zone 5. He bought a plum, cherry and two apple trees and was considering where to plant on his property. I have included some photos. The property slopes down toward a running stream and the yard is still very soggy this time of year.

He said that previous owner mitigated that by adding some underground drainage pipes which you can see in the photos - a channel drains out into the stream.

There is an area near the fence that seems mostly dry and gets good sun.

So the questions are:

-Is this a good spot to plant fruit trees?
-how far apart?
-Is there any benefit to getting them right alongside the drainage channel?
-what can he put in or around the holes for the trees to keep them well-drained as the small trees grow on such a wet property?

If this is the only spot which is available, it is the best spot :)

Maybe it would help to create some raised beds for the trees? For the spacing I'd say space them as much as possible since it looks like a good amount of trees for the marked space. Make sure to arrange them that they can be accessed easily and all get a good amount of sun. Also think about the understory and what other shrubs and herbs can be used to protect the soil and help the trees (windbreakers, more food, nitrogen fixers, mulch material) aka think of creating a permaculture guild.