Tilt a wing into the wind and lift climbs — until it suddenly stalls. See the lift and drag curves that decide how well any aircraft flies.
Airfoil Lift & DragLive
the wing's polar
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Lift rises almost linearly with angle of attack — until the airflow separates and the wing stalls, losing lift sharply. Drag has a fixed part plus induced drag that grows with lift squared and shrinks with aspect ratio. The lift-to-drag ratio, peaking at a modest angle, is the single number that governs a wing's efficiency.
Reading this result: Pre-stall: lift rises almost linearly with angle of attack at 6°, well below the ~15° stall angle. Adding camber would lift the entire curve higher.
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How it works
A wing's lift coefficient rises nearly linearly with angle of attack until the airflow separates and it stalls. Drag combines a baseline with induced drag that grows as lift squared and falls with aspect ratio. The lift-to-drag ratio, peaking at a modest angle, is the master measure of aerodynamic efficiency for airplanes, gliders, and wind turbines.
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Is this airfoil lift drag angle of attack tool really free?▾
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The solver uses established numerical methods, but results are for research and educational purposes and should be validated against experiment or professional review before you rely on them.