Airfoil Data
RAE102
RAE 102 AIRFOIL
Wing Geometry Simulator
The RAE 102 AIRFOIL is a thin 5.0% chord-thickness airfoil with a maximum camber of 2.5% at 36% 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 -2.5°.
Thin airfoil theory predicts a stall angle near 11.9° and a peak lift-to-drag ratio around 49 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 RAE102 appears in the wing design of at least 8 documented aircraft, including designs from Blackburn and Folland. 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 RAE102 typically compare it against profiles of similar thickness: HQ 0/10 AIRFOIL, NACA 0010-64, NACA 0010-65, NASA SC(2)-0710 AIRFOIL, RAE 104 AIRFOIL. The S1016 is another reference profile frequently considered alongside it.
Aircraft Using the RAE102 Airfoil
Blackburn B-103 Buccaneer | Blackburn | RAE 100/RAE 101 mod | RAE 102 mod |
Blackburn B-108 Buccaneer | Blackburn | RAE 100/RAE 101 mod | RAE 102 mod |
Folland Fo.139 Midge | Folland | RAE 102 ? | Constant |
Folland Fo.140 Gnat | Folland | RAE 102 | Constant |
Hawker Siddeley Gnat | Hawker Siddeley | RAE 102 | Constant |
Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd Gnat | Hindustan | RAE 102 | Constant |
Saunders-Roe SR.53 | Saunders-Roe | RAE 102 | Constant |
VFW-Fokker VC 400 | VFW-Fokker | RAE 102 (15.3%) | RAE 102 (18%-16%) |
Wing lofting: 3 of these aircraft taper from RAE102 at the root to a different tip section. Use the Tapered filter to isolate them, then click any tip airfoil link to compare geometries.
Related Airfoils
Engineers evaluating the RAE102 frequently compare it against profiles with comparable geometric constraints. Below are the closest matches based on maximum thickness (5.0%) and max camber (2.5%).