Airfoil Data
NACA23012

The NACA 23012 12% is a thin 7.6% chord-thickness airfoil with a maximum camber of 3.8% at 25% 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 -3.8°.

Thin airfoil theory predicts a stall angle near 11.8° and a peak lift-to-drag ratio around 57 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.

The NACA23012 appears in the wing design of at least 529 documented aircraft, including designs from Beech and Rockwell. 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 NACA23012 typically compare it against profiles of similar thickness: GOE 399 AIRFOIL, BTE-FK, BOEING 737 MIDSPAN AIRFOIL, EPPLER 360 AIRFOIL, GOE 210 (DAIMLER) AIRFOIL. The NACA 23024 is another reference profile frequently considered alongside it.