NACA airfoils


Version: December 16, 1996


National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) has its own WWW page (thanks to Michael L. Nelson, m.l.nelson@larc.nasa.gov).

ANNOUNCEMENT: NACA Lift/Drg data on FTP site (LONG)
Aviation archive (moved from RASCAL)
How to calculate NACA 4- and 5-digit sections
AGARD 01 (NACA 0012)
AGARD 03 (NACA 0012)
Spline data files from LaRC
NACA 4- and 5-digit airfoil methods
NACA 6, 7, and 8 series
UIUC Airfoil Data Site
MSES (a numerical airfoil development system)
XFOIL (interactive design and analysis)
NAS Data Set Archive
NACA4GEN (NACA 4 digit airfoil sections)
Innovative Aerodynamic Technologies (LAMDA)
NACA-1.2
Public Domain Aeronautical Software
PROFOIL
Air_16
Aircraft Design Software Review
NACA 4 Digits Series (JAVA applet)


ANNOUNCEMENT: NACA Lift/Drg data on FTP site (LONG)

ftp ubvms.acsu.buffalo.edu

From Gregory Peter Dwight Siemens / gps190@engr.usask.ca 
Date: 10 Jun 1994 12:04:17 -0500
Organization: University of Saskatchewan
Article: 946 of sci.aeronautics Subject: ANNOUNCEMENT: NACA Lift/Drg data on FTP site (LONG). I finally found a site to store my digitized angle of attack vs Cl and Cl vs Cd data. The data is from NACA TR 824, the paper Abbott and Doehoff's book "Theory of Wing Sections" is based on. There are two text file explanations and one pkzip file which contains all the data files. Thanx to Jim Sonnenmeier(jrs@eng.buffalo.edu if you want to thank him too) the data has a home as explained in this post he sent me. He also created the file naca.lst where he cross references the numbering scheme I used(TR 824 page numbers) with the true NACA designation. Good Work!! The files took quite a bit of time to digitize, for which I want nothing, But please support your local aerodynamicist with food and clothing in their time of need ;). What follows is the mail I received from Jim explaining the location and including the two text files naca.txt and naca.lst. Enjoy!! Greg... Comments to gps190@engr.usask.ca Subject: Re: naca files Greg, I did it. the file naca.zip is now available to the public on the following annonymous ftp site, ubvms.acsu.buffalo.edu in the directory micro.msdos i put the following two files in the archive based on our email messages :::::::::::::: naca.txt :::::::::::::: This archive contains the aerodynamic data for the NACA airfoils contained in NACA TR 824. The individual files for each airfoil are catalogued by xxx.all. The xxx is the page number as they appear in NACA TR 824. Some graphs were omitted because the dealt strictly with multi-element wings (flaps and such) but all of the others are in there. The file naca.lst cross-references the files to the airfoils. The format of the data is as follows, the first section (ranges 1-6) is two column data of angle of attack vs Cl. There is potential for 6 Reynold's number ranges (approx. 3x10^6, 6x10^6, 9x10^6, 6x10^6 @ standard roughness and two ranges with a simple split flap). The second section (ranges 7-12) contains angle of attack vs Cm for the above Reynold's numbers. The third section (ranges 1-6) contains Cl vs Cd data for the same Reynold's number ranges. The fourth section (ranges 7-12) contains Cl vs Cm data for the same Reynold's numbers. The fifth section contains three column data of Angle of attack, Cl and Cd(interpolated). Since not all Reynold's number ranges were plotted for all airfoils not all ranges will be present. These ranges will be listed as "Data Range x does not exist". Another peculiarity of the fourth section is the large number of data that is = 0. This is a result of the way the Cd(int.) was calculated. Each angle of attack, Cl pair was taken and a Cd value was interpolated from the Cl, Cd graph to correspond to that Cl value. For some reason known only to NACA for high values of Cl the corresponding value of Cd was ommitted. This is mainly due to the constant scale used across all of the graphs in TR 824. If the Cd value fell off the graph, the graph was not changed to accomodate it. When A high value of Cl is encountered no Cd can be interpolated and thus the gaps in the data. In case you are wondering if extrapolation could have been used, a quick glance at the Cl,Cd graph (v. high slopes) or at a plot of angle of attack vs Cd(int.) (local maximums occur inside the gaps) shows the folly of that technique in this case. Good luck! Greg... gps190@engr.usask.ca :::::::::::::: naca.lst :::::::::::::: naca.lst naca.txt naca.zip NACA TR 824 lists these page numbers as being for the following airfoils file airfoil --------------------- 131.all NACA 0006 132.all NACA 0009 133.all NACA 1408 134.all NACA 1410 135.all NACA 1412 136.all NACA 2412 137.all NACA 2415 138.all NACA 2418 139.all NACA 2421 140.all NACA 2424 141.all NACA 4412 142.all NACA 4415 143.all NACA 4418 144.all NACA 4421 145.all NACA 4424 146.all NACA 23012 147.all NACA 23015 148.all NACA 23018 149.all NACA 23021 150.all NACA 23024 151.all NACA 63,4-240 155.all NACA 63,4-240, a = 0.3 156.all NACA 63(420)-422 157.all NACA 63(420)-517 158.all NACA 63-006 159.all NACA 63-009 160.all NACA 63-206 161.all NACA 63-209 162.all NACA 63-210 163.all NACA 63(sub)1-012 164.all NACA 63(sub)1-212 165.all NACA 63(sub)1-412 166.all NACA 63(sub)2-015 167.all NACA 63(sub)2-215 168.all NACA 63(sub)2-415 169.all NACA 63(sub)2-615 170.all NACA 63(sub)3-018 171.all NACA 63(sub)3-218 172.all NACA 63(sub)3-418 173.all NACA 63(sub)3-618 174.all NACA 63(sub)4-021 175.all NACA 63(sub)4-221 176.all NACA 63(sub)4-421 177.all NACA 64-006 178.all NACA 64-009 179.all NACA 64-108 180.all NACA 64-110 181.all NACA 64-206 182.all NACA 64-208 183.all NACA 64-209 184.all NACA 64-210 185.all NACA 64(sub)1-012 186.all NACA 64(sub)1-112 187.all NACA 64(sub)1-212 188.all NACA 64(sub)1-412 189.all NACA 64(sub)2-015 190.all NACA 64(sub)2-215 191.all NACA 64(sub)2-415 192.all NACA 64(sub)3-018 193.all NACA 64(sub)3-218 194.all NACA 64(sub)3-418 195.all NACA 64(sub)3-618 196.all NACA 64(sub)4-021 197.all NACA 64(sub)4-221 198.all NACA 64(sub)4-421 199.all NACA 65,3-018 200.all NACA 65,3-418, a = 0.8 201.all NACA 65,3-618 203.all NACA 65(216)-415, a = 0.5 204.all NACA 65-006 205.all NACA 65-009 206.all NACA 65-206 207.all NACA 65-209 208.all NACA 65-210 209.all NACA 65-410 210.all NACA 65(sub)1-012 211.all NACA 65(sub)1-212 213.all NACA 65(sub)1-212, a = 0.6 214.all NACA 65(sub)1-412 215.all NACA 65(sub)2-015 216.all NACA 65(sub)2-215 217.all NACA 65(sub)2-415 218.all NACA 65(sub)2-415, a = 0.5 219.all NACA 65(sub)3-018 222.all NACA 65(sub)3-218 223.all NACA 65(sub)3-418 224.all NACA 65(sub)3-418, a = 0.5 225.all NACA 65(sub)3-618 226.all NACA 65(sub)3-618, a = 0.5 227.all NACA 65(sub)4-021 228.all NACA 65(sub)4-221 229.all NACA 65(sub)4-421 230.all NACA 65(sub)4-421, a = 0.5 231.all NACA 65(215)-114 232.all NACA 65(421)-420 233.all NACA 66,1-212 235.all NACA 66(215)-016 236.all NACA 66(215)-216 239.all NACA 66(215)-216, a = 0.6 246.all NACA 66(215)-416 247.all NACA 66-006 248.all NACA 66-009 249.all NACA 66-206 250.all NACA 66-209 251.all NACA 66-210 252.all NACA 66(sub)1-012 253.all NACA 66(sub)1-212 254.all NACA 66(sub)2-015 255.all NACA 66(sub)2-215 256.all NACA 66(sub)2-415 257.all NACA 66(sub)3-018 258.all NACA 66(sub)3-218 259.all NACA 66(sub)3-418 260.all NACA 66(sub)4-021 261.all NACA 66(sub)4-221 262.all NACA 67,1-215 263.all NACA 747A315 264.all NACA 747A415

Archive on RASCAL updated

ftp://wilbur.pr.erau.edu/pub/av

Original source: Article: 956 of sci.aeronautics Date: 11 Jun 1994 19:35:28 -0500 Organization: UTexas Mail-to-News Gateway Subject: Archive on RASCAL updated From: rdd@netcom.com (Robert Dorsett) I've added some of the recent applications and datafiles to the aviation archive on wilbur.pr.erau.edu. These files are in pub/av/binsrc. README foil12.sit.bin.Z naca-readme.Z aeroFcn geomag.c.Z naca.tar.Z aeroFcn is a FORTRAN program which can be used to determine a number of common physical variables in the atmosphere. The directory contains a compiled, sparcstation-compatible binary and the sources. The binary is "as is." foil12.sit.bin is a Macintosh application which can derive and display any specified NACA airfoil. geomag.c is a C program that can be used to determine the magnetic declination at any point on the earth's surface. naca.tar.Z is a collection of naca airfoil data, listing aoa vs. cl and cd. This is the same as naca.zip, described earlier today, but unzipped and tarred and compressed, which should make it accessible to more people. -- Robert Dorsett Internet: rdd@netcom.com

How to calculate NACA 4- and 5-digit sections<-Here it is!

Article: 232 of sci.physics.computational.fluid-dynamics From: hulburt@leland.Stanford.EDU (Greg Payne) Subject: How to calculate NACA 4- and 5-digit sections<-Here it is! Organization: Stanford University Date: Sat, 7 May 1994 04:37:33 GMT Since there seems to be some demand for this info, here is the method to calculate NACA 4- and 5-digit airfoil sections. It is straight out of Abbott and von Doenhoff, with a little Reigels mixed in. Basically, a NACA airfoil is composed of a camber line and a thickness distribution. The thickness distribution is a single equation, while the camber is usually two joined quadratics. the equations for the upper and lower coordinates are: x(upper) = x - yt*sin(theta) y(upper) = yc + yt*cos(theta) x(lower) = x + yt*sin(theta) y(lower) = yc - yt*cos(theta) where tan(theta) = d(yc)/dx in these equations, yc is the camber line, yt is the thickness distribution. A common approximation (small-angle) is to assume theta is small, so that sin(theta) is approx. 0 and cos(theta) is approx. 1. The equations become: x(upper) = x y(upper) = yc + yt x(lower) = x y(lower) = yc - yt for 4-digit airfoils, the camber lines and thickness are: (yc/c) = (f/c)*(1/(x1^2))*(2*x1*(x/c) - (x/c)^2) for 0<=(x/c)<=x1 -and- (yc/c) = (f/c)*(1/(1-x1)^2)*((1-2x1)+2x1*(x/c)-(x/c)^2) for x1<=(x/c)<=1 with x1=(xf/c) (yt/c) = 5t*(0.29690*x^0.5 - 0.12600X - 0.35160*x^2 + 0.28430*x^3 - 0.10150*x^4) where t = thickness/chord x = position along x-axis xf = position of maximum camber f = maximum camber for 5-digit airfoils the thickness distribution is the same, only the camber line is changed. There are two types, based on the third digit. The majority of 5-digit airfoils use what I call 'type 0' (i.e. NACA 23015): (yc/c) = (k1/6)*(x^3 - 3*x1*x^2 + x1^2*(3-x1)*x) for 0<=x<=x1 -and- (yc/c) = (k1*x1^3 / 6) * (1 - x) for x1<=x<=1 with x1 = (xf/c) and x = (x/c) the constant k1 is determined by the following table: xf 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 x1 0.0580 0.1260 0.2025 0.2900 0.3910 (Cl*/(f/c)) 26.9 19.6 16.4 14.5 11.3 (k1/Cl*) 1205 172.1 53.2 22.13 10.77 I haven't included the 'type 1' camber line. If you would like it, let me know. Breakdown of the NACA designations: In a 4-digit airfoil, the first digit is the value of the maximum camber (in percent of the chord), the second digit is the position of the maximum camber from the leading edge in tenths of the chord, and the last two digits denote the maximum thickness of the airfoil in percent. For the NACA 2415 airfoil, the maximum camber is 2%, the position of the maximum camber is 0.4c, and the thickness is 15%. This example is displayed in below. NACA 2415 NACA 24 mean line (24) 15 NACA 2 maximum camber, % (2%) 4 10 * position of maximum camber (0.4c) 15 thickness, % (15%) The NACA 5-digit airfoils are set up in a similar manner to the 4-digit airfoils. The primary difference is the use of a different camber line. In a 5-digit airfoil, 1.5 times the first digit is the design lift coefficient in tenths, the second and third digits are one-half the distance from the leading edge to the location of maximum camber in percent of the chord, and the fourth and fifth digits are the thickness in percent of the chord. For example, a NACA 23015 airfoil has a design lift coefficient of 0.3, has the maximum camber at 0.15c, and is 15% thick. Additionally, the first three digits indicate the mean line used. In this case, the mean line designation is 230. The 5-digit airfoils use the same thickness distribution as the 4-digit airfoils. This example is displayed below. NACA 23015 NACA 230 mean line (230) 15 thickness, % (15%) NACA 2 (design lift coefficient * 10) / 1.5, (0.3) 30 2 * (position, maximum camber), (0.30 / 2 = 0.15c) 15 NACA 23 0 type of camber line used 15 The above information is from two primary sources: Abbot, Ira H., and von Doenhoff, Albert E. Theory of Wing Sections. copyright 1959, Dover Publications, Inc. (ISBN 0-486-60586-8) Comments: This is the RclassicS book on airfoil design and data. Approximately half of the book is devoted to data (coordinates, wind-tunnel tests, etc) of NACA airfoils. The first half is an introduction to airfoil design, covering such topics as: simple flows, 2-d wing theory, viscosity, high-lift devices, etc. A chapter is devoted to airfoil families, and describes the NACA airfoils. ItUs a good book to buy, loaded with information, and only $12.95. Reigels, Dr. Friedrich W. Aerofoil Sections. copyright 1961, Butterworth & Co. (translated from German by D. G. Randall ) Comments: I found this book in the Stanford University library and I donUt know how available it is elsewhere. It is similar in format to Abbot and von Doenhoff, in that the first half is mostly theory, with the last containing results of various airfoils tested in numerous wind tunnels. It has a little more detail on the NACA 4 and 5 digit airfoil construction than does Abbott and von Doenhoff, and information on non-NACA airfoils. This hase been cobbled together from things I have been working on lately. Hope it helps to answer any questions. I have not included any other NACA series (i.e., the 6-, 7-, or 8-), since they are based on inverse methods (Theorsden, I think). I have heard talk about a source code that can calculate these coordinates, but I haven't seen it.

AGARD 01 (NACA 0012).


AGARD 03 (NACA 0012).



Spline data files from LaRC.



NACA 4- and 5-digit airfoil methods
Article: 980 of sci.aeronautics From: dedalus2@aol.com (Dedalus2) Subject: NACA 4- and 5-digit airfoil methods Date: 27 Jun 1994 11:11:15 -0500 Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364) In article , hulburt@leland.Stanford.EDU (Greg Payne) writes: how to do it If anybody wants it, I have a DOS program called generate.exe that does the 4- and 5-digit math. I will send it to anybody who wants it (I assume few people do) for the cost of postage and a disk -- ie about $1. You can email me at dedalus2@aol.com.



NACA 6, 7, and 8 series
Article: 1006 of sci.aeronautics From: hulburt@leland.Stanford.EDU (Greg Payne) Subject: NACA 6,7, and 8 series fortran program Date: 8 Jul 1994 14:12:28 -0500 Organization: Stanford University 6-Series: by CL Ladson and CW Brooks, Jr: NASA TM X-3284 "Development of a Computer Program to Obtain Ordinates for the NACA 4-Digit, 4-Digit Modified, 5-Digit, and 16-Series airfoils" (includes source code listing) NASA TM X-3069 "Development of a Computer Program to Obtain Ordinates for the NACA 6- and 6A-Series Airfoils" (includes source code listing) I have a copy of the fortran source. If anyone is interested I will check with the person that sent it to me and see about putting on an ftp site somewhere (I think it is public domain so it shouldn't be a problem). The notes that came with it also indicate it is not 'extremely accurate' for thicknesses of less than 6% and greater than 15%. 7 & 8-Series NACA TN-1771 "The Development of Cambered Airfoil Sections Having Favorable Lift Characteristics at Supersonic Mach Numbers" (8-series) There is a NACA report on the 7-series, but I can't find it in my notes - NACA/NASA published an index of NACA's TN's and it is listed there.

UIUC Airfoil Data Site



MSES (a numerical airfoil development system)



XFOIL (interactive design and analysis)



NAS Data Set Archive



NACA4GEN

From Harold Ginsberg / 76660.3274@compuserve.com
Date: 23 Jul 95 13:09:35 EDT
Subject: NACA4GEN

I wrote that calculates NACA 4 digit airfoil shapes.  I also wrote a
program that generates NACA 4 Digit Airfoils in DXF format.  A DXF
format can be imported into many CAD programs.

I have been uploading a file call NACA4GEN.ZIP to BBS and on-line
services (Compuserve) and circulating as shareware.

NACA4GEN is directly available via ftp from ftp.mecheng.asme.org/pub/fluid/naca4gen.zip.

This file has two compressed files NACA4GEN.EXE and NACA.DXF
NACA4GEN.EXE is a program that generates the coordinates of an NACA 4
digit Airfoil section.  It was written in Fortran.  It plots the
Airfoil on the screen and some of the coordinates.
 
NACA.DXF is a DXF file of an NACA 4 digit Airfoil.  It can be imported
into any CAD programs.  It was generated by a program call
NACA4DXF.EXE, Which is like NACA4GEN.EXE.

There is a New Web site:
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Harold_Ginsberg/.
It has infomation on NACA4GEN (TM) progams; Harold Ginsberg; a Copy of the
shareware NACA foil generators; Info on Aircraft, Ships, and RC models; and
links to other areas of the net.

These Programs are written by Mr. Harold Ginsberg (PE) who has a
B.S. in Aerospace Engineering.


Innovative Aerodynamic Technologies

From Sekhar Chandra / chandra@violet.cs.odu.edu
Date: 16 Aug 95
Subject: COMMERCIAL: Laminar Airfoil Design and Analysis
Innovative Aerodynamic Technologies (IAT), Poquoson, Virginia would like to introduce a user-friendly package to design and analyze low drag airfoils. It is well known that the skin friction drag caused by a laminar boundary layer is about an order of magnitude lower than that of a turbulent boundary layer. The tools to design and analyze laminar airfoils, until now, required "expert" users with extensive experience. This capability only existed with major aircraft manufacturers and research organizations. IAT's Laminar Airfoil Manager: Design and Analysis (LAMDA) package is an innovative tool for novices and expert users alike. The Graphical User Interface of LAMDA integrates a flow analysis code, a boundary layer mean-flow analysis code, and a boundary layer stability code and allows even an inexperienced user to conduct a reliable design/analysis in a stable working environment. Features include: Interactive inputs Ability to generate NACA 4-&5-digit, and 6 series airfoils in seconds Ability to conduct flow analysis to compute the pressure distribution Ability to conduct laminar boundary layer mean flow analysis Ability to conduct linear incompressible boundary layer stability analysis On screen plots of airfoil geometry, pressure distribution, suction distribution, boundary layer velocity profiles, stability parameters such as boundary layer disturbance growth rate. Postscript output of all the plots Capability to bookkeep all the user files related to laminar flow analysis LAMDA Version 1.0 was developed under NASA Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program and all the codes used under the interface were extensively used for over ten years. This package is multi-platform based running under X-windows. It can be used on PC's running LINUX operating system. It is a unique tool for design/analysis of low drag airfoils which reduces the turn around time from days to hours. LAMDA is useful to experimental aircraft designers, General Aviation aircraft designers, researchers as well as students.

If you are interested in receiving pricing and additional information,
please contact us at:

Innovative Aerodynamic Technologies
534 Wythe Creek Road, Suite C,
Poquoson, Virginia-23662
(804)-868-4151 (voice)
(804)-868-0816 (FAX)
chandra@violet.cs.odu.edu (e-mail)

You can also get more information at
http://tag-www.larc.nasa.gov/tops/tops95/exhibits/sbr/sbr-156-95/sbr15695.html.


NACA-1.2

From Stuart Norris / S.Norris@unsw.edu.au
Date: Thu, 28 Nov 1996 16:15:42 +1100
You might be interested in looking at

http://www.maths.unsw.EDU.AU/~norris/software.html

which contains the original Fortran, and a C version for those who
don't know any better.  It can create 4- and 5- digit and 1- and 6-
series airfoils.


Public Domain Aeronautical Software

Ralph Carmichael / ralph@cruzio.com
http://www.pdas.com/.


PROFOIL

Michael Selig / selig@opus.aae.uiuc.edu
http://opus.aae.uiuc.edu/~airfoils/.


Air_16

Dr. Patrick E. Hanley / phanley@connix.com
Hanley Innovations
P.O. Box 870
Storrs, CT 06268
Air_16 v 1.0 for Windows 3.x, NACA 4 and 5-digit Application.


Aircraft Design Software Review
Aircraft Design Software Review


NACA 4 Digits Series (JAVA applet)

From Jens Trapp / Jens.Trapp@dlr.de
Date: Tue, 15 Oct 1996 10:54:03 +0200
We have a nica java applet, where you can create NACA 4Digit
Series Airfoils online. You'll find it on
http://www.ts.go.dlr.de/~jens/NACA.html.