Airfoil Data
KC135WINGLET

The KC-135 Winglet (supercritical Whitcomb) is a thin 6.3% chord-thickness airfoil with a maximum camber of 3.1% at 40% 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 -3.1°.

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.

Designers evaluating the KC135WINGLET typically compare it against profiles of similar thickness: NACA 0010-34 a=0.8 c(li)=0.2, RAE6-9CK AIRFOIL, RAE 2822 AIRFOIL, NACA 64A210, BOEING 737 MIDSPAN AIRFOIL. The HQ 3.5/10 AIRFOIL is another reference profile frequently considered alongside it.