Airfoil choice starts with the mission, not a favourite NACA number. HFOIL’s Design Assistant and 360° design ratings keep that idea front and centre.
Design Assistant inputs
Set mission class (general aviation, UAV/low Re, glider, wind turbine, high speed), Reynolds number, cruise speed, target Cl, and thickness needs. The assistant ranks library candidates so you begin from a shortlist, not a random walk.
Star ratings after analysis
HFOIL 360° can score sections for Glider, UAV, High-speed, STOL, Wind turbine, and RC-style missions using computed metrics — a teachable bridge from numbers to “is this section a fit?”
Combine with batch compare
Once you have three candidates, run identical Re/Mach polars and rank by L/D, endurance, or glide. Mission language plus fair comparison beats gut feel.
Engineering takeaway
Write the mission sentence first. Then let HFOIL populate candidates and evidence.
How HFOIL helps you act
Open Design Assistant, shortlist, analyse, rate with 360°, and document the why. Contact Hendoi for academic or commercial licenses.