Airfoil Data
MS317

The NASA/LANGLEY MS(1)-0317 AIRFOIL is a 10.0% chord-thickness airfoil with a maximum camber of 5.0% at 38% chord, suited to general-aviation and UAV wing design. At zero angle of attack the cambered geometry generates positive lift, giving an estimated zero-lift angle of -5.0°.

Thin airfoil theory predicts a stall angle near 11.7° and a peak lift-to-drag ratio around 63 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 MS317 appears in the wing design of at least 1 documented aircraft — notably by IPTN. Its proven track record across canard designs makes it one of the more field-validated profiles in the UIUC database.

Designers evaluating the MS317 typically compare it against profiles of similar thickness: S2027, EPPLER 540 AIRFOIL, NACA 747A315, AS6098 | Ananda-Selig | AIAA Paper 2018-0310, Prandtl-D Centerline NASA TP-2016-219072. The S8036 (16%) is another reference profile frequently considered alongside it.