Airfoil Data
M16

The NACA M16 AIRFOIL is a thin 7.2% chord-thickness airfoil with a maximum camber of 3.6% at 30% chord, suited to high-speed UAVs, sailplane tip sections, and propeller blade design. At zero angle of attack the cambered geometry generates positive lift, giving an estimated zero-lift angle of -3.6°.

Thin airfoil theory predicts a stall angle near 11.8° and a peak lift-to-drag ratio around 56 at typical UAV and light-aircraft Reynolds numbers — useful benchmarks before running a full XFOIL or NeuralFoil polar. The slim profile minimises pressure drag at higher speeds but leaves limited spar depth for structural integration.

Designers evaluating the M16 typically compare it against profiles of similar thickness: BE50 (smoothed), Eiffel 10 (Wright) - 1903 Wright Flyer airfoil, NACA 5-H-10 AIRFOIL, E169 (14.4%), GOE 368 AIRFOIL. The NACA 65-209 is another reference profile frequently considered alongside it.