Airfoil Data
NACA2408

The NACA 2408 is a thin 5.9% chord-thickness airfoil with a maximum camber of 2.9% 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 -2.9°.

Thin airfoil theory predicts a stall angle near 11.9° and a peak lift-to-drag ratio around 52 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 NACA2408 appears in the wing design of at least 9 documented aircraft, including designs from SIPA and Arado. 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 NACA2408 typically compare it against profiles of similar thickness: AG52, S8066 (10% version of S8065 w/ lower surface aerodynamically similar), AG45c -03f, GIII BL75 AIRFOIL, OAF139 AIRFOIL. The NACA 2424 is another reference profile frequently considered alongside it.