Airfoil Data
E396

The EPPLER 396 AIRFOIL is a 11.5% chord-thickness airfoil with a maximum camber of 5.8% at 38% chord, suited to general-aviation and UAV wing design. At zero angle of attack the cambered geometry generates positive lift, giving an estimated zero-lift angle of -5.8°.

Thin airfoil theory predicts a stall angle near 11.6° and a peak lift-to-drag ratio around 68 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.

Designers evaluating the E396 typically compare it against profiles of similar thickness: GOE 530 AIRFOIL, NACA 63(4)-221, USA 29 AIRFOIL, GOE 769 AIRFOIL, EPPLER 554 AIRFOIL. The FX 68-H-120 is another reference profile frequently considered alongside it.