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Profile geometry 1: Zero lift line; 2: Leading edge; 3: Nose circle; 4: Camber; 5: Max. thickness; 6: Upper surface; 7: Trailing edge; 8: Camber
mean-line; 9: Lower surface

Profile lines 1: Chord, 2: Camber, 3: Length, 4: Midline

A: blue line = chord, green line = camber mean-line, B: leading edge radius, C: x-y-coordinates for the profile geometry (Chord = x-Axis; y-Axis line
on that leading edge)

The NACA airfoils are airfoil shapes for aircraft wings developed by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics(NACA).
The shape of the NACA airfoils is described using a series of digits following the word "NACA". The parameters in the
numerical code can be entered into equations to precisely generate the cross-section of the airfoil and calculate its properties.
Contents
[hide]

1 Four-digit series
o 1.1 Equation for a symmetrical 4-digit NACA airfoil
o 1.2 Equation for a cambered 4-digit NACA airfoil

2 Five-digit series
3 Camber line profiles
o 3.1 3 digit camber lines
3.1.1 Non-Reflexed
o 3.2 Reflexed
4 Modifications
5 1-series
6 6-series
7 7-series
8 8-series
9 See also
10 References
11 External links

Four-digit series[edit]
The NACA four-digit wing sections define the profile by:[1]
1. First digit describing maximum camber as percentage of the chord.
2. Second digit describing the distance of maximum camber from the airfoil leading edge in tens of percents of the chord.
3. Last two digits describing maximum thickness of the airfoil as percent of the chord.[2]
For example, the NACA 2412 airfoil has a maximum camber of 2% located 40% (0.4 chords) from the leading edge with a
maximum thickness of 12% of the chord. Four-digit series airfoils by default have maximum thickness at 30% of the chord (0.3
chords) from the leading edge.
The NACA 0015 airfoil is symmetrical, the 00 indicating that it has no camber. The 15 indicates that the airfoil has a 15%
thickness to chord length ratio: it is 15% as thick as it is long.

Equation for a symmetrical 4-digit NACA airfoil[edit]

Plot of a NACA 0015 foil, generated from formula

The formula for the shape of a NACA 00xx foil, with "xx" being replaced by the percentage of thickness to chord, is: [3]

[4][5]

where:

c is the chord length,

x is the position along the chord from 0 to c,
is the half thickness at a given value of x (centerline to surface), and
t is the maximum thickness as a fraction of the chord (so 100 t gives the last two digits in the NACA 4-digit
denomination).

Note that in this equation, at (x/c) = 1 (the trailing edge of the airfoil), the thickness is not quite zero. If a zero-thickness
trailing edge is required, for example for computational work, one of the coefficients should be modified such that they sum
to zero. Modifying the last coefficient (i.e. to 0.1036) will result in the smallest change to the overall shape of the airfoil.
The leading edge approximates a cylinder with a radius of:

Now the coordinates

of the upper airfoil surface, and

Equation for a cambered 4-digit NACA airfoil[edit]

of the lower airfoil surface are:

Plot of a NACA 2412 foil. The camber line is shown in red, and the thickness or the symmetrical airfoil 0012 is shown in
purple.

The simplest asymmetric foils are the NACA 4-digit series foils, which use the same formula as that used to
generate the 00xx symmetric foils, but with the line of mean camber bent. The formula used to calculate the mean
camber line is:[3]

where:

m is the maximum camber (100 m is the first of the four digits),

p is the location of maximum camber (10 p is the second digit in the NACA xxxx description).

For this cambered airfoil, because the thickness needs to be applied perpendicular to the camber line, the
coordinates

where

and

, of respectively the upper and lower airfoil surface, become:[6]

Five-digit series[edit]
The NACA five-digit series describes more complex airfoil shapes:[7]
1. The first digit, when multiplied by 0.15, gives the designed theoretical optimum lift coefficient
at the ideal angle-of-attack.
2. The second digit, when multiplied by 5, gives the relative position, as a percentage, of the
point of maximum camber along the chord from the leading edge.
3. The third digit indicates whether the camber is simple (0) or reflex (1).
4. The fourth and fifth digits give the maximum thickness of the airfoil (as a percentage of the
chord), the same as 4-digit NACA profiles.
For example, the NACA 23112 profile describes an airfoil with design lift coefficient of 0.3 (0.15*2), the point of
maximum camber located at 15% chord (5*3), reflex camber (1), and maximum thickness of 12% of chord length
(12).
The camber-line is defined in two sections:[8]

where the chordwise location

and the ordinate

chosen so that the maximum camber occurs at

have been normalized by the chord. The constant

; for example, for the 230 camber-line,

is

and

. Finally, constant

is determined to give the desired lift coefficient. For a 230 camber-line

profile (the first 3 numbers in the 5 digit series),

is used.

Camber line profiles[edit]

3 digit camber lines[edit]
3 digit camber lines provide a very far forward location for the maximum camber.
The first digit is 2/3 of the design lift coefficient (in 10ths).
The second digit is twice the longitudinal location of the maximum camber location (in 10ths).
The third digit indicates a non-reflexed (0) or reflexed (1) trailing edge.
Non-Reflexed[edit]
The camber line is defined as:

The following table presents the various camber line profile coefficients:

Camber Line Profile

210

0.05 0.0580 361.40

220

0.10 0.126 51.640

230

0.15 0.2025 15.957

240

0.20 0.290 6.643

250

0.25 0.391 3.230

Reflexed[edit]
Camber lines such as 231 makes the negative trailing edge camber of the 230 series profile
to be positively cambered. This results in a theoretical pitching moment of 0.
from

from

The following table presents the various camber line profile coefficients:

Camber Line Profile

221

0.10 0.130 51.990 0.000764

231

0.15 0.217 15.793 0.00677

241

0.20 0.318 6.520 0.0303

251

0.25 0.441 3.191 0.1355

Modifications[edit]
Four- and five-digit series airfoils can be modified with a two-digit code preceded by a hyphen
in the following sequence:
1. One digit describing the roundness of the leading edge with 0 being sharp, 6 being
the same as the original airfoil, and larger values indicating a more rounded leading
edge.
2. One digit describing the distance of maximum thickness from the leading edge in tens
of percent of the chord.
For example, the NACA 1234-05 is a NACA 1234 airfoil with a sharp leading edge and
maximum thickness 50% of the chord (0.5 chords) from the leading edge.
In addition, for a more precise description of the airfoil all numbers can be presented as
decimals.

1-series[edit]
A new approach to airfoil design pioneered in the 1930s in which the airfoil shape was
mathematically derived from the desired lift characteristics. Prior to this, airfoil shapes were
first created and then had their characteristics measured in a wind tunnel. The 1-series
airfoils are described by five digits in the following sequence:
1. The number "1" indicating the series
2. One digit describing the distance of the minimum pressure area in tens of percent of
chord.
3. A hyphen.
4. One digit describing the lift coefficient in tenths.
5. Two digits describing the maximum thickness in percent of chord.
For example, the NACA 16-123 airfoil has minimum pressure 60% of the chord back with a
lift coefficient of 0.1 and maximum thickness of 23% of the chord.

6-series[edit]
An improvement over 1-series airfoils with emphasis on maximizing laminar flow. The airfoil
is described using six digits in the following sequence:
1. The number "6" indicating the series.
2. One digit describing the distance of the minimum pressure area in tens of percent of
chord.
3. The subscript digit gives the range of lift coefficient in tenths above and below the
design lift coefficient in which favorable pressure gradients exist on both surfaces
4. A hyphen.
5. One digit describing the design lift coefficient in tenths.
6. Two digits describing the maximum thickness as percent of chord.

For example, the NACA 612-315 a=0.5 has the area of minimum pressure 10% of the chord
back, maintains low drag 0.2 above and below the lift coefficient of 0.3, has a maximum
thickness of 15% of the chord, and maintains laminar flow over 50% of the chord.

7-series[edit]
Further advancement in maximizing laminar flow achieved by separately identifying the low
pressure zones on upper and lower surfaces of the airfoil. The airfoil is described by seven
digits in the following sequence:
1. The number "7" indicating the series.
2. One digit describing the distance of the minimum pressure area on the upper surface
in tens of percent of chord.
3. One digit describing the distance of the minimum pressure area on the lower surface
in tens of percent of chord.
4. One letter referring to a standard profile from the earlier NACA series.
5. One digit describing the lift coefficient in tenths.
6. Two digits describing the maximum thickness as percent of chord.
7. "a=" followed by a decimal number describing the fraction of chord over which laminar
flow is maintained. a=1 is the default if no value is given.
For example, the NACA 712A315 has the area of minimum pressure 10% of the chord back
on the upper surface and 20% of the chord back on the lower surface, uses the standard "A"
profile, has a lift coefficient of 0.3, and has a maximum thickness of 15% of the chord.

8-series[edit]
Supercritical airfoils designed to independently maximize airflow above and below the wing.
The numbering is identical to the 7-series airfoils except that the sequence begins with an "8"
to identify the series.