# NACA 0015 airfoil > What is the exact shape of the NACA 0015 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-0015-airfoil/ · JSON: https://xemstudio.com/api/geometry?object=naca-0015-airfoil · Plain text: https://xemstudio.com/objects/naca-0015-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 | 15.0 | **Exact dimensions.** True size, with no printing tolerance added. ## Notes - NACA 0015 is a 15% thick symmetric 4-digit section (NASA TM-4741 designation). Like all symmetric sections it has zero lift at zero angle and zero moment about the a.c. (Virginia Tech Appendix A). - Thicker sections give a deeper spar and gentler stall; NACA data on the 2415 vs 2412 show thickening from 12% to 15% slightly increases drag and slightly lowers CLmax (Virginia Tech Appendix A). - 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 0015: symmetric, 15 % 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: 15% 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) - Effect of 12% -> 15% thickness (2412 vs 2415): drag slightly up, CLmax slightly down (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 | 2.367 | 1.250 | -2.367 | | 2.5 | 2.500 | 3.268 | 2.500 | -3.268 | | 5 | 5.000 | 4.443 | 5.000 | -4.443 | | 7.5 | 7.500 | 5.250 | 7.500 | -5.250 | | 10 | 10.000 | 5.853 | 10.000 | -5.853 | | 15 | 15.000 | 6.681 | 15.000 | -6.681 | | 20 | 20.000 | 7.172 | 20.000 | -7.172 | | 25 | 25.000 | 7.426 | 25.000 | -7.426 | | 30 | 30.000 | 7.501 | 30.000 | -7.501 | | 40 | 40.000 | 7.250 | 40.000 | -7.250 | | 50 | 50.000 | 6.608 | 50.000 | -6.608 | | 60 | 60.000 | 5.684 | 60.000 | -5.684 | | 70 | 70.000 | 4.542 | 70.000 | -4.542 | | 80 | 80.000 | 3.214 | 80.000 | -3.214 | | 90 | 90.000 | 1.706 | 90.000 | -1.706 | | 95 | 95.000 | 0.880 | 95.000 | -0.880 | | 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 - 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 - 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 - 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-0015-airfoil/index.json · license: https://xemstudio.com/files/hardware/naca-0015-airfoil/LICENSE.md - naca-0015-airfoil-section-100mm-chord: [STEP](https://xemstudio.com/files/hardware/naca-0015-airfoil/naca-0015-airfoil-section-100mm-chord.step) · [STL](https://xemstudio.com/files/hardware/naca-0015-airfoil/naca-0015-airfoil-section-100mm-chord.stl) — NACA 0015 section, 100 mm chord × 20 mm span, closed trailing edge, 160 points from the equations (scale to your chord) ## Questions **0012 or 0015?** 0015 is thicker (stiffer spar) with slightly more drag and slightly less CLmax, per the 2412/2415 comparison (Virginia Tech). **How thick is the NACA 0015?** Maximum thickness 15.00 % of chord at 29.9 % chord: 15.00 mm on a 100 mm chord. **Where is the NACA 0015'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. ## Fits with - [NACA 0006 airfoil](https://xemstudio.com/objects/naca-0006-airfoil/) - [NACA 0008 airfoil](https://xemstudio.com/objects/naca-0008-airfoil/) - [NACA 0009 airfoil](https://xemstudio.com/objects/naca-0009-airfoil/) - [NACA 0010 airfoil](https://xemstudio.com/objects/naca-0010-airfoil/) - [NACA 0012 airfoil](https://xemstudio.com/objects/naca-0012-airfoil/) - [NACA 0018 airfoil](https://xemstudio.com/objects/naca-0018-airfoil/)