# NACA 0012 airfoil

> What is the exact shape of the NACA 0012 airfoil, and what do the digits mean?

- Category: Airfoils › NACA 4-digit
- Kind: Standard part
- Basis: Computed from the NACA equations (Report 460 / Report 610, restated in NASA TM-4741)
- Page: https://xemstudio.com/objects/naca-0012-airfoil/ · JSON: https://xemstudio.com/api/geometry?object=naca-0012-airfoil · Plain text: https://xemstudio.com/objects/naca-0012-airfoil/sheet.txt
- License: dimension sheet CC BY 4.0 (Xem Studio); files Xem Studio Design License (free to use and sell from, not to redistribute as files: https://xemstudio.com/license/)
- Use in every chat: add https://xemstudio.com/mcp as a connector (https://xemstudio.com/use-with-ai/)

## Overall (mm)

| length | width | height |
|---|---|---|
| 100.0 | 20.0 | 12.0 |

**Exact dimensions.** True size, with no printing tolerance added.

## Notes

- NACA 0012 is the classic 12% symmetric section. NACA data show zero lift at zero angle and a quarter-chord moment essentially zero from -12 to +14 deg, confirming c.p. and a.c. coincide (Virginia Tech Appendix A).
- CLmax at Re 6e6 is just under 1.6, rising to 2.4 with a 20% chord plain flap at 40 deg (Virginia Tech, from Abbott & von Doenhoff).
- NACA 4-digit sections have good stall behaviour, small centre-of-pressure movement and low roughness sensitivity, but a low CLmax, relatively high drag and high pitching moment (Aerospaceweb summary).
- NACA 0012: symmetric, 12 % thick.
- NACA 4-digit: first digit = maximum camber in % of chord, second = its position in tenths of chord, last two = maximum thickness in % of chord (NACA Report 460).
- Ordinates are in % of chord from the leading edge, computed from the published equations with the closed-trailing-edge thickness coefficient (−0.1036, as in NASA TM-4741). The original reports use an open trailing edge (−0.1015); the difference is under 0.03 % of chord near the trailing edge.
- The file is a 100 mm chord section, 20 mm deep: scale it uniformly to your chord, or import the STEP and sweep or loft it into a wing. Thickness scales with chord; the shape is the same at any size.
- Max thickness: 12% chord (from designation) (NASA TM-4741)
- Camber: 0 (symmetric) (NASA TM-4741)
- Zero-lift angle: 0 deg (symmetric section) (Virginia Tech Appendix A)
- Moment about a.c.: zero (symmetric; c.p. = a.c.) (Virginia Tech Appendix A)
- CLmax (Re 6e6, smooth): just under 1.6 (Virginia Tech Appendix A)
- CLmax with 20% flap at 40 deg: 2.4 (Virginia Tech Appendix A)
- Cm c/4 flat range: about -12 to +14 deg (Virginia Tech Appendix A)
- 4-digit code: 1st digit max camber %c; 2nd digit camber position in tenths c; last two thickness %c (NASA TM-4741; Aerospaceweb)
- Thickness equation (t/c = 0.20 basis): y/c = 0.2969 sqrt(x) - 0.1260 x - 0.3516 x^2 + 0.2843 x^3 - 0.1015 x^4, scaled by (t/c)/0.20 (NASA TM-4741)

## Sizes

| x (% chord) | upper x | upper y | lower x | lower y |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 1.25 | 1.250 | 1.894 | 1.250 | -1.894 |
| 2.5 | 2.500 | 2.615 | 2.500 | -2.615 |
| 5 | 5.000 | 3.555 | 5.000 | -3.555 |
| 7.5 | 7.500 | 4.200 | 7.500 | -4.200 |
| 10 | 10.000 | 4.683 | 10.000 | -4.683 |
| 15 | 15.000 | 5.345 | 15.000 | -5.345 |
| 20 | 20.000 | 5.737 | 20.000 | -5.737 |
| 25 | 25.000 | 5.941 | 25.000 | -5.941 |
| 30 | 30.000 | 6.001 | 30.000 | -6.001 |
| 40 | 40.000 | 5.800 | 40.000 | -5.800 |
| 50 | 50.000 | 5.286 | 50.000 | -5.286 |
| 60 | 60.000 | 4.547 | 60.000 | -4.547 |
| 70 | 70.000 | 3.634 | 70.000 | -3.634 |
| 80 | 80.000 | 2.572 | 80.000 | -2.572 |
| 90 | 90.000 | 1.365 | 90.000 | -1.365 |
| 95 | 95.000 | 0.704 | 95.000 | -0.704 |
| 100 | 100.000 | -0.000 | 100.000 | 0.000 |

## Where the files are

- NACA (NASA Technical Reports Server): [Report 460: The characteristics of 78 related airfoil sections from tests in the variable-density wind tunnel (Jacobs, Ward, Pinkerton, 1933)](https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19930091108) — web — Publisher's page; dimensions are facts
- NASA: [TM-4741: Computer program to obtain ordinates for NACA airfoils (Ladson, Brooks, Hill, Sproles, 1996)](https://www.pdas.com/refs/tm4741.pdf) — web — Publisher's page; dimensions are facts
- Virginia Tech Pressbooks (data from Abbott & von Doenhoff, NACA): [Appendix A: Airfoil Data](https://pressbooks.lib.vt.edu/aerodynamics/?p=52) — web — Publisher's page; dimensions are facts
- NASA Langley (Ladson et al.), NASA TM-4741: [Computer Program to Obtain Ordinates for NACA Airfoils](https://www.pdas.com/refs/tm4741.pdf) — web — Publisher's page; dimensions are facts
- Aerospaceweb.org: [NACA Airfoil Series](https://aerospaceweb.org/question/airfoils/q0041.shtml) — web — Publisher's page; dimensions are facts

## Free STEP/STL (1 parts, Xem Studio Design License, Xem Studio)

Index: https://xemstudio.com/files/hardware/naca-0012-airfoil/index.json · license: https://xemstudio.com/files/hardware/naca-0012-airfoil/LICENSE.md

- naca-0012-airfoil-section-100mm-chord: [STEP](https://xemstudio.com/files/hardware/naca-0012-airfoil/naca-0012-airfoil-section-100mm-chord.step) · [STL](https://xemstudio.com/files/hardware/naca-0012-airfoil/naca-0012-airfoil-section-100mm-chord.stl) — NACA 0012 section, 100 mm chord × 20 mm span, closed trailing edge, 160 points from the equations (scale to your chord)

## Questions

**What is the NACA 0012 stall CL?**

Just under 1.6 at Re 6 million (Virginia Tech Appendix A); model Reynolds numbers give less.

**How thick is the NACA 0012?**

Maximum thickness 12.00 % of chord at 29.9 % chord: 12.00 mm on a 100 mm chord.

**Where is the NACA 0012's camber?**

None: it is symmetric (upper and lower surfaces mirror).

**How do I use it for my wing?**

Scale the 100 mm section to your chord (e.g. 180 mm chord = 180 % scale), then extrude or loft between root and tip sections. For a tapered wing, scale a root and a tip copy and loft between them.

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