# NACA 23015 airfoil

> What is the exact shape of the NACA 23015 airfoil, and what do the digits mean?

- Category: Airfoils › NACA 5-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-23015-airfoil/ · JSON: https://xemstudio.com/api/geometry?object=naca-23015-airfoil · Plain text: https://xemstudio.com/objects/naca-23015-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 23015 is the 15% thick member of the 230 family: design CL 0.3, maximum camber at 15% chord (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).
- Thicker sections suit wing roots where spar depth matters; NACA data on 2412 vs 2415 show the extra thickness slightly raises drag and lowers CLmax (Virginia Tech).
- NACA 23015: 5-digit 230 mean line (design lift coefficient 0.3, camber peak at 15 % chord), 15 % 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: 15% chord (designation)

## Sizes

| x (% chord) | upper x | upper y | lower x | lower y |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 1.25 | 0.642 | 2.644 | 1.858 | -1.931 |
| 2.5 | 1.770 | 3.852 | 3.230 | -2.520 |
| 5 | 4.283 | 5.540 | 5.717 | -3.230 |
| 7.5 | 6.938 | 6.711 | 8.062 | -3.728 |
| 10 | 9.639 | 7.543 | 10.361 | -4.141 |
| 15 | 15.001 | 8.520 | 14.999 | -4.843 |
| 20 | 20.158 | 8.937 | 19.842 | -5.403 |
| 25 | 25.164 | 9.080 | 24.836 | -5.768 |
| 30 | 30.166 | 9.045 | 29.834 | -5.953 |
| 40 | 40.160 | 8.573 | 39.840 | -5.923 |
| 50 | 50.146 | 7.710 | 49.854 | -5.502 |
| 60 | 60.125 | 6.566 | 59.875 | -4.799 |
| 70 | 70.100 | 5.203 | 69.900 | -3.878 |
| 80 | 80.071 | 3.655 | 79.929 | -2.772 |
| 90 | 90.038 | 1.927 | 89.962 | -1.485 |
| 95 | 95.019 | 0.990 | 94.981 | -0.769 |
| 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
- Aerospaceweb.org: [NACA Airfoil Series](https://aerospaceweb.org/question/airfoils/q0041.shtml) — 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

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

Index: https://xemstudio.com/files/hardware/naca-23015-airfoil/index.json · license: https://xemstudio.com/files/hardware/naca-23015-airfoil/LICENSE.md

- naca-23015-airfoil-section-100mm-chord: [STEP](https://xemstudio.com/files/hardware/naca-23015-airfoil/naca-23015-airfoil-section-100mm-chord.step) · [STL](https://xemstudio.com/files/hardware/naca-23015-airfoil/naca-23015-airfoil-section-100mm-chord.stl) — NACA 23015 section, 100 mm chord × 20 mm span, closed trailing edge, 160 points from the equations (scale to your chord)

## Questions

**23012 or 23015?**

Same camber line; 23015 is thicker for a deeper spar at slight drag cost (Aerospaceweb; Virginia Tech).

**How thick is the NACA 23015?**

Maximum thickness 15.00 % of chord at 29.9 % chord: 15.00 mm on a 100 mm chord.

**Where is the NACA 23015'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.

## Fits with

- [NACA 23009 airfoil](https://xemstudio.com/objects/naca-23009-airfoil/)
- [NACA 23012 airfoil](https://xemstudio.com/objects/naca-23012-airfoil/)
- [NACA 23018 airfoil](https://xemstudio.com/objects/naca-23018-airfoil/)
- [NACA 23021 airfoil](https://xemstudio.com/objects/naca-23021-airfoil/)
- [NACA 23024 airfoil](https://xemstudio.com/objects/naca-23024-airfoil/)