NACA Airfoil - 1-series

1-series

A new approach to airfoil design pioneered in the 1930s in which the airfoil shape was mathematically derived from the desired lift characteristics. Prior to this, airfoil shapes were first created and then had their characteristics measured in a wind tunnel. The 1-series airfoils are described by five digits in the following sequence:

1. The number "1" indicating the series
2. One digit describing the distance of the minimum pressure area in tens of percent of chord.
3. A hyphen.
4. One digit describing the lift coefficient in tenths.
5. Two digits describing the maximum thickness in percent of chord.

For example, the NACA 16-123 airfoil has minimum pressure 60% of the chord back with a lift coefficient of 0.1 and maximum thickness of 23% of the chord.