Airfoil Data
RAF30
RAF 30 AIRFOIL
Wing Geometry Simulator
The RAF 30 AIRFOIL is a thin 6.3% chord-thickness airfoil with a maximum camber of 3.2% 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 -3.2°.
Thin airfoil theory predicts a stall angle near 11.9° and a peak lift-to-drag ratio around 53 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 RAF30 appears in the wing design of at least 8 documented aircraft, including designs from Avro and Supermarine. Its proven track record across canard designs makes it one of the more field-validated profiles in the UIUC database.
Designers evaluating the RAF30 typically compare it against profiles of similar thickness: EPPLER E836 HYDROFOIL AIRFOIL, GOE 488 AIRFOIL, MH 42 8.94%, MH 44 9.66%, GOE 474 AIRFOIL. The NACA 65-210 is another reference profile frequently considered alongside it.
Aircraft Using the RAF30 Airfoil
Armstrong Whitworth AW.14 Starling | Armstrong | RAF-30 | Constant |
Avro 569 | Avro | RAF-30 | Constant |
Avro 582 | Avro | RAF-30 | Constant |
Blackburn C.B.2 Nile | Blackburn | RAF-30 | Constant |
Supermarine S-5 | Supermarine | RAF-30 | Constant |
Supermarine Sparrow Monoplane | Supermarine | RAF-30 | Constant |
Vickers 143 | Vickers | RAF-30 | Constant |
Kyushu J7W Shinden | Kyushu | ? | LB 510215/RAF-30 mod/NACA 23010 |
Wing lofting: 1 of these aircraft taper from RAF30 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 RAF30 frequently compare it against profiles with comparable geometric constraints. Below are the closest matches based on maximum thickness (6.3%) and max camber (3.2%).