Airfoil Data
DAE21
DAE-21 AIRFOIL
Wing Geometry Simulator
The DAE-21 AIRFOIL is a 12.3% chord-thickness airfoil with a maximum camber of 6.1% at 38% chord, suited to high-lift UAV wings, RC sailplanes, and low-Reynolds-number slow-flyers. At zero angle of attack the cambered geometry generates positive lift, giving an estimated zero-lift angle of -6.1°.
Thin airfoil theory predicts a stall angle near 11.5° and a peak lift-to-drag ratio around 69 at typical UAV and light-aircraft Reynolds numbers — useful benchmarks before running a full XFOIL or NeuralFoil polar. The 12% thickness provides structural depth for main-spar placement without excessive drag penalty at moderate speeds.
The DAE21 appears in the wing design of at least 5 documented aircraft, including designs from Nihon and Raven. Its proven track record across conventional and rotorcraft designs makes it one of the more field-validated profiles in the UIUC database.
Designers evaluating the DAE21 typically compare it against profiles of similar thickness: LNV109A, GOE 15 AIRFOIL, GOE 528 AIRFOIL, GOE 611 AIRFOIL, GOE 476 AIRFOIL. The DAE-51 AIRFOIL is another reference profile frequently considered alongside it.
Aircraft Using the DAE21 Airfoil
Nihon University Mowe X | Nihon | Drela DAE 11 | Drela DAE 21 |
Raven HPA | Raven | Drela DAE 11/DAE 21 | Drela DAE 31/DAE 41 |
Team Aeroscepsy Sinbad | Team | Drela DAE 11/ DAE 21 | Drela DAE 31 |
Tohoku University Windnauts HPA | Tohoku | Drela DAE 21 | Drela DAE 31 |
Nihon University Mitsubachi | Nihon | Drela DAE 21 | Constant |
Wing lofting: 4 of these aircraft taper from DAE21 at the root to a different tip section. Use the Tapered filter to isolate them, then click any tip airfoil link to compare geometries.
Design wings in your spreadsheet
AeroSheet loads DAE21 airfoils directly into Google Sheets. Polars, 3D splines, Fusion 360 export, without leaving your spreadsheet.
Install in Google Sheets coming soonRelated Airfoils
Engineers evaluating the DAE21 frequently compare it against profiles with comparable geometric constraints. Below are the closest matches based on maximum thickness (12.3%) and max camber (6.1%).
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