Airfoil Data
N22

The N-22 is a 12.4% chord-thickness airfoil with a maximum camber of 6.2% at 30% 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 -6.2°.

Thin airfoil theory predicts a stall angle near 11.5° and a peak lift-to-drag ratio around 70 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 N22 appears in the wing design of at least 24 documented aircraft, including designs from Stearman and Douglas. 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 N22 typically compare it against profiles of similar thickness: NACA M18, EPPLER 587 AIRFOIL, EPPLER 432 AIRFOIL, EPPLER 657 AIRFOIL, NASA/LANGLEY LS(1)-0421 AIRFOIL. The GOE 504 AIRFOIL is another reference profile frequently considered alongside it.