A line drawn through the origin and tangent to the graph locates a point that denotes to the minimum

slope. This point is also of great importance, since it indicates the flight situation that maximum Cl-to-Cd ratio is generated, since (Cd/Cl)min = (Cl/Cd)max. This is an important output of an airfoil, and it is referred to as the maximum lift-to-drag ratio. In addition of requirement of lowest Cd min , the highest (Cl/Cd)max is also desired. These two objectives may not happen at the same time in one airfoil, but based on aircraft mission and weight of each design requirement, one of them gets more attention. The variation of drag coefficient as a function of lift coefficient (figure 5.15) may be mathematically modeled by the following second order equation:
Cd C d min  K Cl  Clmin

(5.8)

where K is called section drag factor. The parameter K can be determined by selecting a point on the graph ( Cl1 and C d1 ) and plugging in the equation 5.8.
Cd

Cdmin

Cli

Cld

Cl

Figure 5.16. The variations of Cl versus Cd for a laminar airfoil Figure 5.16 shows the typical variations of drag coefficient as a function of lift coefficient for a laminar airfoil; such as in 6-series NACA airfoils. This graph has a unique feature which is the bucket, due to the bucket shape of the lower portion of the graph. The unique aspect of the bucket is that the Cdmin will not vary for a limited range of Cl. this is very significant, since it implies that the pilot can stay at the lowest drag point while changing the angle of attack. This situation matches with the cruising flight, since the aircraft weight is reduces as the fuel is burned. Hence, the pilot can bring aircraft nose down (decrease the angle of attack) with being worried about an increase in the aircraft drag. Therefore it is possible to keep the engine throttle low during cruising flight. The middle point of the bucket is called ideal lift coefficient ( Cli ), while the highest Cl in the bucket region is referred to as design lift coefficient ( Cld ). These two points are among the list of significant criteria to select/design an airfoil. Remember that the design lift coefficient occurs at the point whose Cd/Cl is minimum or Cl/Cd is maximum. For some flight operations
Wing Design 22