# NACA 6412 airfoil

> What is the exact shape of the NACA 6412 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-6412-airfoil/ · JSON: https://xemstudio.com/api/geometry?object=naca-6412-airfoil · Plain text: https://xemstudio.com/objects/naca-6412-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 | 11.97 |

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

## Notes

- NACA 6412 is a 4-digit section with 6% camber at 40% chord and 12% thickness (designation per NASA TM-4741), the most cambered of the common 4-digit 12% family.
- Following the 2412 -> 4412 trend in NACA data (zero-lift angle -2 -> -4 deg), more camber gives more lift at a given angle and more nose-down moment (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 6412: 6 % camber at 40 % chord, 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 camber / position / thickness: 6% at 40% chord / 12% (NASA TM-4741)
- Camber trend (2412 -> 4412): zero-lift angle -2 -> -4 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 | 0.721 | 2.188 | 1.779 | -1.450 |
| 2.5 | 1.792 | 3.244 | 3.208 | -1.790 |
| 5 | 4.097 | 4.844 | 5.903 | -2.032 |
| 7.5 | 6.505 | 6.119 | 8.495 | -2.041 |
| 10 | 8.972 | 7.194 | 11.028 | -1.944 |
| 15 | 14.015 | 8.910 | 15.985 | -1.597 |
| 20 | 19.149 | 10.174 | 20.851 | -1.174 |
| 25 | 24.336 | 11.060 | 25.664 | -0.747 |
| 30 | 29.551 | 11.609 | 30.449 | -0.359 |
| 40 | 40.000 | 11.800 | 40.000 | 0.200 |
| 50 | 50.176 | 11.117 | 49.824 | 0.550 |
| 60 | 60.302 | 9.870 | 59.698 | 0.796 |
| 70 | 70.362 | 8.116 | 69.638 | 0.884 |
| 80 | 80.340 | 5.882 | 79.660 | 0.784 |
| 90 | 90.224 | 3.180 | 89.776 | 0.487 |
| 95 | 95.127 | 1.651 | 94.873 | 0.266 |
| 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-6412-airfoil/index.json · license: https://xemstudio.com/files/hardware/naca-6412-airfoil/LICENSE.md

- naca-6412-airfoil-section-100mm-chord: [STEP](https://xemstudio.com/files/hardware/naca-6412-airfoil/naca-6412-airfoil-section-100mm-chord.step) · [STL](https://xemstudio.com/files/hardware/naca-6412-airfoil/naca-6412-airfoil-section-100mm-chord.stl) — NACA 6412 section, 100 mm chord × 20 mm span, closed trailing edge, 160 points from the equations (scale to your chord)

## Questions

**Why choose a 6% camber section?**

More camber shifts lift up at a given angle, at the cost of more nose-down moment (Virginia Tech trend).

**How thick is the NACA 6412?**

Maximum thickness 11.97 % of chord at 30.6 % chord: 11.97 mm on a 100 mm chord.

**Where is the NACA 6412's camber?**

Maximum camber 6.00 % of chord at 40.0 % 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 6409 airfoil](https://xemstudio.com/objects/naca-6409-airfoil/)