# NACA 23018 airfoil

> What is the exact shape of the NACA 23018 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-23018-airfoil/ · JSON: https://xemstudio.com/api/geometry?object=naca-23018-airfoil · Plain text: https://xemstudio.com/objects/naca-23018-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 | 18.0 |

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

## Notes

- NACA 23018: 5-digit 230 mean line (design lift coefficient 0.3, camber peak at 15 % chord), 18 % 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.

## Sizes

| x (% chord) | upper x | upper y | lower x | lower y |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 1.25 | 0.520 | 3.102 | 1.980 | -2.389 |
| 2.5 | 1.623 | 4.489 | 3.377 | -3.157 |
| 5 | 4.140 | 6.417 | 5.860 | -4.107 |
| 7.5 | 6.826 | 7.755 | 8.174 | -4.772 |
| 10 | 9.567 | 8.712 | 10.433 | -5.310 |
| 15 | 15.001 | 9.856 | 14.999 | -6.179 |
| 20 | 20.190 | 10.371 | 19.810 | -6.837 |
| 25 | 25.197 | 10.565 | 24.803 | -7.253 |
| 30 | 30.199 | 10.545 | 29.801 | -7.453 |
| 40 | 40.192 | 10.023 | 39.808 | -7.373 |
| 50 | 50.175 | 9.031 | 49.825 | -6.823 |
| 60 | 60.151 | 7.702 | 59.849 | -5.936 |
| 70 | 70.120 | 6.112 | 69.880 | -4.787 |
| 80 | 80.085 | 4.298 | 79.915 | -3.415 |
| 90 | 90.045 | 2.268 | 89.955 | -1.826 |
| 95 | 95.023 | 1.166 | 94.977 | -0.945 |
| 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

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

Index: https://xemstudio.com/files/hardware/naca-23018-airfoil/index.json · license: https://xemstudio.com/files/hardware/naca-23018-airfoil/LICENSE.md

- naca-23018-airfoil-section-100mm-chord: [STEP](https://xemstudio.com/files/hardware/naca-23018-airfoil/naca-23018-airfoil-section-100mm-chord.step) · [STL](https://xemstudio.com/files/hardware/naca-23018-airfoil/naca-23018-airfoil-section-100mm-chord.stl) — NACA 23018 section, 100 mm chord × 20 mm span, closed trailing edge, 160 points from the equations (scale to your chord)

## Questions

**How thick is the NACA 23018?**

Maximum thickness 18.00 % of chord at 29.9 % chord: 18.00 mm on a 100 mm chord.

**Where is the NACA 23018'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 23015 airfoil](https://xemstudio.com/objects/naca-23015-airfoil/)
- [NACA 23021 airfoil](https://xemstudio.com/objects/naca-23021-airfoil/)
- [NACA 23024 airfoil](https://xemstudio.com/objects/naca-23024-airfoil/)