Airfoil Data
NACA0021
NACA 0021
Wing Geometry Simulator
The NACA 0021 is a 10.5% chord-thickness airfoil with a maximum camber of 5.3% at 30% 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 -5.3°.
Thin airfoil theory predicts a stall angle near 11.7° and a peak lift-to-drag ratio around 65 at typical UAV and light-aircraft Reynolds numbers — useful benchmarks before running a full XFOIL or NeuralFoil polar. The 11% thickness provides structural depth for main-spar placement without excessive drag penalty at moderate speeds.
The NACA0021 appears in the wing design of at least 1 documented aircraft — notably by Platt. Its proven track record across rotorcraft designs makes it one of the more field-validated profiles in the UIUC database.
Designers evaluating the NACA0021 typically compare it against profiles of similar thickness: FX 63-147 AIRFOIL, NASA/LANGLEY LS(1)-0417 (GA(W)-1) AIRFOIL, NACA 16-021, NACA 66-021 AIRFOIL, NACA 747A415. The LOCKHEED L-188 TIP AIRFOIL is another reference profile frequently considered alongside it.
Aircraft Using the NACA0021 Airfoil
Wing lofting: 1 of these aircraft taper from NACA0021 at the root to a different tip section. Use the Tapered filter to isolate them, then click any tip airfoil link to compare geometries.
Related Airfoils
Engineers evaluating the NACA0021 frequently compare it against profiles with comparable geometric constraints. Below are the closest matches based on maximum thickness (10.5%) and max camber (5.3%).