Flat Plate Data

[GeneWeber]

Hi Folks,

Does anyone have polar data for a flat plate airfoil? I’ve been searching the web and coming up empty. Found a few Universities that posted lab exercises for students to take measurements and create this data, but no actual data.

I know it was mentioned on Norm’s forum that Chuck Beaty ran a flat plate in JavaFoil and generated polars. I tried this, but the results don’t look very trustworthy, and the creator of JavaFoil has cautioned me about its limitations.

Thanks & Regards,

Gene

[Udi]

Gene,

Have you tried searching the NACA database for a flat plate airfoil? I seem to remember a discussion on Norm's forum, in which someone found a NACA article comparing a flat plate airfoil with shaped airfoils. The results, if I remember correctly, were surprisingly positive for a flat plate. If my recollection is correct, a low aspect ratio flat plate airfoil had a surprisingly large AOA range prior to stall, and the stall was very very soft!

I really miss Norm's forum, with it's invaluable wealth of information.

Udi-

[GeneWeber]

Thanks Udi,

Al Hammer emailed the attached. It is what he had posted on Norm’s forum, and he had found it on the NASA/NACA system.

Best Regards,

Gene

[RHerron]

Gene,

Flat plates are used on loads of aircraft, both certified and Experimental, and have been used for ages. Go have a look at Oshkosh sometime.
Many light plane manufacturers started using airfoil shaped surfaces basically to make their stressed aluminum skin construction strong enough.

Ron