An airfoil (in American English) or aerofoil (in British English) is the shape of a wing or blade (of

a propeller, rotor, or turbine) or sail as seen in cross-section.

An airfoil-shaped body moved through a fluid produces an aerodynamic force. The component of this
force perpendicular to the direction of motion is called lift. The component parallel to the direction of
motion is called drag. Subsonic flight airfoils have a characteristic shape with a rounded leading edge,
followed by a sharp trailing edge, often with a symmetric curvature of upper and lower surfaces. Foils
of similar function designed with water as the working fluid are called hydrofoils.
The lift on an airfoil is primarily the result of its angle of attack and shape. When oriented at a suitable
angle, the airfoil deflects the oncoming air (for fixed-wing aircraft, a downward force), resulting in a
force on the airfoil in the direction opposite to the deflection. This force is known as aerodynamic
force and can be resolved into two components: lift and drag. Most foil shapes require a positive
angle of attack to generate lift, but cambered airfoils can generate lift at zero angle of attack. This
"turning" of the air in the vicinity of the airfoil creates curved streamlines, resulting in lower pressure
on one side and higher pressure on the other.

Airfoil terminology
The various terms related to airfoils are defined below

The suction surface (upper surface) is generally associated with higher velocity and lower
static pressure.

The pressure surface (lower surface) has a comparatively higher static pressure than the
suction surface. The pressure gradient between these two surfaces contributes to the lift force
generated for a given airfoil.

The geometry of the airfoil is described with a variety of terms:

The leading edge is the point at the front of the airfoil that has maximum curvature (minimum
radius).

The trailing edge is defined similarly as the point of maximum curvature at the rear of the
airfoil.

The chord line is the straight line connecting leading and trailing edges. The chord length, or
simply chord, , is the length of the chord line. That is the reference dimension of the airfoil
section.

The shape of the airfoil is defined using the following geometrical parameters:

The mean camber line or mean line is the locus of points midway between the upper and
lower surfaces. Its shape depends on the thickness distribution along the chord;

The thickness of an airfoil varies along the chord. It may be measured in either of two ways:

Thickness measured perpendicular to the camber line.

Thickness measured perpendicular to the chord line.

Some important parameters to describe an airfoil's shape are its camber and its thickness. For
example, an airfoil of the NACA 4-digit series such as the NACA 2415 (to be read as 2 - 4 - 15)
describes an airfoil with a camber of 0.02 chord located at 0.40 chord, with 0.15 chord of maximum
thickness.
Finally, important concepts used to describe the airfoil's behavior when moving through a fluid are:

The aerodynamic center, which is the chord-wise length about which the pitching moment is
independent of the lift coefficient and the angle of attack.( is the point at which the pitching
moment coefficient for the airfoil does not vary with lift coefficient (i.e. angle of attack)

The center of pressure, which is the chord-wise location about which the pitching moment is
zero.( is the point where the total sum of a pressure field acts on a body, causing a force to act
through that point. )

The center of gravity (CG) of an aircraft is the point over which the aircraft would balance

A force may be thought of as a push or pull in a specific direction. A force is a vector quantity so a
force has both a magnitude and a direction. When describing forces, we have to specify both the magnitude and
the direction.
Weight
Weight is a force that is always directed toward the center of the earth. The magnitude of the weight depends on
the mass of all the airplane parts, plus the amount of fuel, plus any payload on board (people, baggage, freight,
etc.). The weight is distributed throughout the airplane. But we can often think of it as collected and acting
through a single point called the center of gravity. In flight, the airplane rotates about the center of gravity.
During a flight, an airplane's weight constantly changes as the aircraft consumes fuel. The distribution of the
weight and the center of gravity also changes. So the pilot must constantly adjust the controls to keep the
airplane balanced, or trimmed.
Lift
To overcome the weight force, airplanes generate an opposing force called lift. Lift is generated by the motion
of the airplane through the air and is an aerodynamic force. "Aero" stands for the air, and "dynamic" denotes
motion. Lift is directed perpendicular to the flight direction. The magnitude of the lift depends on
several factors including the shape, size, and velocity of the aircraft. As with weight, each part of the aircraft
contributes to the aircraft lift force. Most of the lift is generated by the wings. Aircraft lift acts through a single
point called the center of pressure. The center of pressure is defined just like the center of gravity, but using
the pressure distribution around the body instead of the weight distribution.
The distribution of lift around the aircraft is important for solving the control problem. Aerodynamic surfaces
are used to control the aircraft in roll, pitch, and yaw.
Drag
As the airplane moves through the air, there is another aerodynamic force present. The air resists the motion of
the aircraft and the resistance force is called drag. Drag is directed along and opposed to the flight direction.
Like lift, there are many factors that affect the magnitude of the drag force including the shape of the aircraft,
the "stickiness" of the air, and the velocity of the aircraft. Like lift, we collect all of the individual components'
drags and combine them into a single aircraft drag magnitude. And like lift, drag acts through the aircraft center
of pressure.
Thrust
To overcome drag, airplanes use a propulsion system to generate a force called thrust. The direction of the thrust

force depends on how the engines are attached to the aircraft. In the figure shown above, two turbine engines are
located under the wings, parallel to the body, with thrust acting along the body centerline. On some aircraft,
such as the Harrier, the thrust direction can be varied to help the airplane take off in a very short distance. The
magnitude of the thrust depends on many factors associated with the propulsion system including the type of
engine, the number of engines, and the throttle setting.
For jet engines, it is often confusing to remember that aircraft thrust is a reaction to the hot gas rushing out of
the nozzle. The hot gas goes out the back, but the thrust pushes towards the front. Action <--> reaction is
explained by Newton's Third Law of Motion.
The motion of the airplane through the air depends on the relative strength and direction of the forces shown
above. If the forces are balanced, the aircraft cruises at constant velocity. If the forces are unbalanced, the
aircraft accelerates in the direction of the largest force

Lift depends on the density of the air, the square of the velocity, the air's viscosity and
compressibility, the surface area over which the air flows, the shape of the body, and the
body's inclination to the flow. In general, the dependence on body shape, inclination, air viscosity, and
compressibility is very complex.
One way to deal with complex dependencies is to characterize the dependence by a single variable.
For lift, this variable is called the lift coefficient, designated "Cl." This allows us to collect all the effects,
simple and complex, into a single equation. The lift equation states that lift L is equal to the lift
coefficient Cl times the density r times half of the velocity Vsquared times the wing area A.
L = Cl * A * .5 * r * V^2
For given air conditions, shape, and inclination of the object, we have to determine a value for Cl to
determine the lift.
The combination of terms "density times the square of the velocity divided by two" is called
the dynamic pressure and appears in Bernoulli's pressure equation.

The lift coefficient is a number that aerodynamicists use to model all of the complex dependencies
of shape, inclination,and some flow conditions on lift. This equation is simply a rearrangement of
the lift equation where we solve for the lift coefficient in terms of the other variables. The lift
coefficient Cl is equal to the lift L divided by the quantity: density r times half the velocity V squared
times the wing area A.
Cl = L / (A * .5 * r * V^2)
The quantity one half the density times the velocity squared is called the dynamic pressure q. So
Cl = L / (q * A)
The lift coefficient then expresses the ratio of the lift force to the force produced by the dynamic
pressure times the area.

DRAG
Two main types of drag are parasite and induced drag.
Remember that drag is the force that resists movement of an airplane through the
air. Parasite drag is so named because it in no way functions to aid in flight, while
induced drag, is the result of an airfoil (wing) developing lift.
PARASITE DRAG
Parasite drag is comprised of all the forces that work to slow the plane down, and as
mentioned earlier does not play in the production of lift. There are 3 types of parasite
drag: form drag, interference drag, and skin drag.
Induced Drag: The drag that results from the generation of a trailing vortex system
downstream of a lifting surface with a finite aspect ratio. In another word, this type of drag is
induced by the lift force.
Skin Friction Drag: The drag on a body resulting from viscous shearing stresses (i.e., friction)
over its contact surface (i.e., skin). The drag of a very streamlined shape such as a thin, flat
plate is frequently expressed in terms of a skin friction drag. This drag is a function of
Reynolds number. There are mainly two cases where the flow in the boundary layer is
entirely laminar or entirely turbulent over the plate. The Reynolds number is based on the
total length of the object in the direction of the velocity. In a usual application, the boundary
layer is normally laminar near the leading edge of the object undergoing transition to a
turbulent layer at some distance back along the surface.
Form Drag (sometimes called Pressure Drag): The drag on a body resulting from the
integrated effect of the static pressure acting normal to its surface resolved in the drag
direction. Unlike the skin friction drag that results from viscous shearing forces tangential to
a bodys surface, form drag results from the distribution of pressure normal to the bodys
surface. In an extreme case of a flat plate normal to the flow, the drag is totally the result of
an imbalance in the pressure distribution. As with skin friction drag, form drag is generally

dependent on Reynolds number. Form drag is based on the projected frontal area. As a body
begins to move through the air, the vorticity in the boundary layer is shed from the upper and
lower surfaces to form two vortices of opposite rotation

Drag depends on the density of the air, the square of the velocity, the air's viscosity and
compressibility, the size andshape of the body, and the body's inclination to the flow. In general, the
dependence on body shape, inclination, air viscosity, and compressibility is very complex.
One way to deal with complex dependencies is to characterize the dependence by a single variable.
For drag, this variable is called the drag coefficient, designated "Cd." This allows us to collect all the
effects, simple and complex, into a single equation. The drag equation states that drag D is equal to
the drag coefficient Cd times the density r times half of the velocity V squared times the reference
area A.
D = Cd * A * .5 * r * V^2
For given air conditions, shape, and inclination of the object, we must determine a value for Cd to
determine drag. Determining the value of the drag coefficient is more difficult than determining the lift
coefficient because of the multiple sources of drag. The drag coefficient given above includes form
drag, skin friction drag, wave drag, and induced drag components.
Notice that the area (A) given in the drag equation is given as a reference area. The drag depends
directly on the size of the body. The combination of terms "density times the square of the velocity
divided by two" is called the dynamic pressure and appears in Bernoulli's pressure equation.

The drag coefficient is a number that aerodynamicists use to model all of the complex dependencies
of shape, inclination,and flow conditions on aircraft drag. This equation is simply a rearrangement of
the drag equation where we solve for the drag coefficient in terms of the other variables. The drag
coefficient Cd is equal to the drag D divided by the quantity: density r times half the
velocity V squared times the reference area A.
Cd = D / (A * .5 * r * V^2)
The quantity one half the density times the velocity squared is called the dynamic pressure q. So
Cd = D / (q * A)
The drag coefficient then expresses the ratio of the drag force to the force produced by the dynamic
pressure times the area.
This equation gives us a way to determine a value for the drag coefficient. In a controlled
environment (wind tunnel) we can set the velocity, density, and area and measure the drag produced.
At higher speeds, it becomes important to match Mach numbers between the two cases. Mach
number is the ratio of the velocity to the speed of sound. At supersonic speeds, shock waves will be
present in the flow field and we must be sure to account for the wave drag in the drag coefficient. So it
is completely incorrect to measure a drag coefficient at some low speed (say 200 mph) and apply that
drag coefficient at twice the speed of sound (approximately 1,400 mph, Mach = 2.0). It is even more
important to match air viscosity effects. The important matching parameter for viscosity is
the Reynolds number that expresses the ratio of inertial forces to viscous forces.
This additional source of drag is called the induced drag or drag due to lift. Induced drag occurs
because of the distribution of lift across the span of the wing. Because of pressure differences above
and below the wing, the air on the bottom of the wing is drawn onto the top near the wing tips. This
creates a swirling flow which changes the effective angle of attack along the wing and "induces" a
drag on the wing. The induced drag coefficient Cdi is equal to the square of the lift coefficient Cl
divided by the quantity: pi (3.14159) times the aspect ratio AR times an efficiency factor e.
Cdi = (Cl^2) / (pi * AR * e)
The aspect ratio is the square of the span s divided by the wing area A.
AR = s^2 / A

For a rectangular wing this reduces to the ratio of the span to the chord. Long, slender, high aspect
ratio wings have lower induced drag than short, thick, low aspect ratio wings.
The total drag coefficient Cd is equal to the drag coefficient at zero lift Cdo plus the induced drag
coefficient Cdi.
Cd = Cdo + Cdi
The drag coefficient in this equation uses the wing area for the reference area.