As we all know, the wings are one of the most important parts of the aircraft. In some cases, it's literally the entire plane itself.
SO! I was thinking... I'm not very good at airfoils-- I don't know how they affect flight or at what altitude.
I was thinking... Let's share them here! Post pictures, discuss the affects a special airfoil has on flight and so on.
I mean, we're all pilots, engineers and crash-test-dummies here, right? <3
@Sirstupid Yeah i mistook air deflection for drag
That'd be flat top@Noman0rumeral
@Skua I feel stupid now i always thought flat bottom pulls down. Well the more you know
Fortunately for most of us, SP simplifies airfoils quite a bit. Living up to its name, I guess.
Symmetric: no lift at zero angle of attack.
Semi-symmetric: some lift at zero angle of attack.
Flat-bottom: a lot of lift at zero angle of attack.
They lose effectiveness at higher altitudes, of course - usually somewhere above 80,000ft is where I find that the air becomes a bit too thin for normal planes. The main use of these airfoil profiles is to balance your plane for level flight, though. If your plane noses down all the time, use an airfoil with more lift at the front, or one with less near the back. If it noses up, do the opposite.