Airfoil Data
NACA1408

The NACA 1408 is a thin 4.9% chord-thickness airfoil with a maximum camber of 2.5% 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 -2.5°.

Thin airfoil theory predicts a stall angle near 12.0° and a peak lift-to-drag ratio around 49 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 NACA1408 typically compare it against profiles of similar thickness: HQ 1.0/8 AIRFOIL, RYAN BQM-34 FIREBEE WING AIRFOIL, NPL AIRFOIL FROM ARC CP 1372, HAM-STD HS1-404 AIRFOIL, NPL 9510 AIRFOIL. The NACA 1412 is another reference profile frequently considered alongside it.