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NACA 23012 airfoil
What is the exact shape of the NACA 23012 airfoil, and what do the digits mean? · Standard part · basis: Computed from the NACA equations (Report 460 / Report 610, restated in NASA TM-4741)
Also called: NACA 23012, NACA 23012 coordinates, NACA 23012 dat, NACA 23012 profile, NACA 23012 DXF, NACA 23012 STEP, NACA 23012 STL, perfil NACA 23012, Profil NACA 23012, naca23012, NACA 23012 wing section, 230 series airfoil
Exact dimensions. True size, with no printing tolerance added.
- length
- 100.0 mm
- width
- 20.0 mm
- height
- 12.0 mm
Notes
- NACA 23012 uses the 230 camber line: design lift coefficient 0.3 with maximum camber far forward at 15% chord, and 12% thickness (Aerospaceweb; NASA TM-4741).
- NACA 5-digit sections offer higher CLmax and low pitching moment with low roughness sensitivity, but poor (abrupt) stall and relatively high drag (Aerospaceweb summary).
- Aerospaceweb notes 5-digit sections were used on piston bombers and transports.
- NACA 23012: 5-digit 230 mean line (design lift coefficient 0.3, camber peak at 15 % chord), 12 % thick.
- NACA 5-digit 230xx: '2' × 3/2 = design lift coefficient 0.3; '30' = camber peak at 15 % chord on a simple mean line; last two digits = maximum thickness in % of chord (NACA Report 610; TM-4741).
- 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.
- 5-digit code: 1st digit x 3/2 = design CL in tenths; next two digits / 2 = max camber position in tenths c; last two thickness %c (Aerospaceweb)
- 230 camber line: design CL 0.3, max camber at 15% chord (Aerospaceweb; NASA TM-4741 (cl,i = 0.3))
- Thickness: 12% chord (designation)
NACA 23012 airfoil size chart
| x (% chord) | upper x | upper y | lower x | lower y |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 1.25 | 0.763 | 2.187 | 1.737 | -1.474 |
| 2.5 | 1.916 | 3.214 | 3.084 | -1.883 |
| 5 | 4.427 | 4.663 | 5.573 | -2.353 |
| 7.5 | 7.051 | 5.667 | 7.949 | -2.684 |
| 10 | 9.711 | 6.375 | 10.289 | -2.973 |
| 15 | 15.000 | 7.184 | 15.000 | -3.506 |
| 20 | 20.126 | 7.503 | 19.874 | -3.969 |
| 25 | 25.131 | 7.596 | 24.869 | -4.283 |
| 30 | 30.132 | 7.545 | 29.868 | -4.453 |
| 40 | 40.128 | 7.123 | 39.872 | -4.473 |
| 50 | 50.117 | 6.389 | 49.883 | -4.181 |
| 60 | 60.100 | 5.429 | 59.900 | -3.663 |
| 70 | 70.080 | 4.295 | 69.920 | -2.970 |
| 80 | 80.057 | 3.013 | 79.943 | -2.129 |
| 90 | 90.030 | 1.586 | 89.970 | -1.144 |
| 95 | 95.016 | 0.814 | 94.984 | -0.593 |
| 100 | 100.000 | -0.000 | 100.000 | 0.000 |
Where the files are
Other publishers' files are linked, not hosted. "verify" = check the license at the link before commercial use.
| 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) | web | Publisher's page; dimensions are facts |
| NASA | TM-4741: Computer program to obtain ordinates for NACA airfoils (Ladson, Brooks, Hill, Sproles, 1996) | web | Publisher's page; dimensions are facts |
| Aerospaceweb.org | NACA Airfoil Series | web | Publisher's page; dimensions are facts |
| NASA Langley (Ladson et al.), NASA TM-4741 | Computer Program to Obtain Ordinates for NACA Airfoils | web | Publisher's page; dimensions are facts |
Free files
★ Free files 1 parts. Xem Studio design: free to use, print and sell things from; not to be republished as files. Xem Studio Design License. index.json
| naca-23012-airfoil-section-100mm-chord | NACA 23012 section, 100 mm chord × 20 mm span, closed trailing edge, 160 points from the equations (scale to your chord) | STEP · STL |
https://xemstudio.com/mcp to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or any MCP client (free, no account, one minute) and it can look up exact sizes, mating fits and free STEP/STL from every chat.Plain text: sheet.txt · JSON: /api/geometry?object=naca-23012-airfoil
Fits with
Questions
Why does the 23012 stall sharply?
5-digit sections trade higher CLmax for poor stall behaviour (Aerospaceweb).
How thick is the NACA 23012?
Maximum thickness 12.00 % of chord at 29.9 % chord: 12.00 mm on a 100 mm chord.
Where is the NACA 23012's camber?
Maximum camber 1.84 % of chord at 15.0 % chord.
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.