To further understand airfoils and their working, airfoil terminology needs to be grasped. The following terms are typically used while describing an airfoil.
- Leading Edge – The foremost edge or tip of the airfoil profile which comes into contact with the air first.
- Trailing Edge – The rearmost point of the airfoil profile. It serves as a converging point for air diverged by the leading edge.
- Chord – This is the shortest path between the leading and trailing edges. The line formed is called the Chord line.
- Mean Camber Line – Line joining the leading and trailing edges equidistant from both lower and upper surface.
- Maximum Camber – Maximum distance between the mean camber line and the chord line.
- Maximum Thickness – Maximum thickness of the airfoil, measured by the distance between the upper and lower surface.
- Camber – Camber can be defined as the asymmetry between the upper and lower surfaces. It is usually expressed as a percentage called camber percent chord.
- Angle of attack – It is the angle of inclination of the airfoil relative to wind.
