Airfoil Data
NACA2412

The NACA 2412 is a thin 7.9% chord-thickness airfoil with a maximum camber of 3.9% 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 -3.9°.

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 NACA2412 appears in the wing design of at least 151 documented aircraft, including designs from Cessna and Miles. 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 NACA2412 typically compare it against profiles of similar thickness: FX60-100 10.0% smoothed, RUTAN CANARD AIRFOIL, HQ 3.0/10 AIRFOIL, S9037 (9%), BOEING-VERTOL VR-11X AIRFOIL. The NACA 2408 is another reference profile frequently considered alongside it.