Is this good for educators?

Yes — this version of "Airfoil Lift & Drag for a wind-tunnel airfoil" is framed for educators teaching it to a class. Drop a live demo into a lecture or assign it as a shareable link — no lab installs.

Do I need to install anything?

No. It runs in any modern browser, free, with no account required.

For Educators · Airfoil Lift & Drag

Airfoil Lift & Drag for a wind-tunnel airfoil

Built for educators teaching it to a class. Drop a live demo into a lecture or assign it as a shareable link — no lab installs. Simulate a wind-tunnel airfoil live below — adjust the inputs and watch it respond, right in your browser.

Airfoil Lift & DragLive

the wing's polar

Controls

Presets

Angle of attack (°)

Aspect ratio

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.

▶ Run in Python

Data Inspector

Lift coeff. CL0.53

Drag coeff. CD0.033

Lift/Drag16.0

Statusattached

Governing equation

C_{D} = C_{D 0} + \frac{C _{L}^{2}}{π A R e} = 0.020 + \frac{0.5 3 ^{2}}{π \cdot 8 \cdot 0.85} = 0.033

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.

Runs locally in your browser — free forever. Scale to the cloud when reality gets heavy.

or unlock everything with Pro →

Also for:Students Researchers Engineers Hobbyists & Makers K-12 Students First Responders General version →

More with Airfoil Lift & Drag

Airfoil Lift & Drag for a passenger jet wing Airfoil Lift & Drag for a rocket ascent Airfoil Lift & Drag for a drone quadcopter Airfoil Lift & Drag for a glider Airfoil Lift & Drag for a paper airplane Airfoil Lift & Drag for a Mars lander Airfoil Lift & Drag for a satellite reentry Airfoil Lift & Drag for a model rocket

Frequently asked questions

Is this good for educators?: Yes — this version of "Airfoil Lift & Drag for a wind-tunnel airfoil" is framed for educators teaching it to a class. Drop a live demo into a lecture or assign it as a shareable link — no lab installs.
Do I need to install anything?: No. It runs in any modern browser, free, with no account required.