This section of the openAE website contains resources which we have compiled for your enjoyment and pleasure. All resources can be referenced and downloaded for FREE (I hope this isn't a surprise). We really want openAE to be a central source of accurate and valuable information for the aerospace community and we sincerely hope that these resources have proved to be invaluable to you just as much as us.
Some resources are tutorials for software and others are long-lost reference documentation. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you feel a tutorial needs to be written, or some invaluable piece of information captured. These are community resources and we hope that the community helps us grow them.
XFOIL Tutorial Friday, 20 November 2009 21:03 |  Written by Aleksey Matyushev |  |  | 
This tutorial is designed to offer you a quick walk-through of basic airfoil design and analysis using XFOIL. A description of XFOIL and some of its features can be found on our software page. XFOIL has two basic uses, one is the analysis and the other is the actual design and modification of airfoils. This tutorial starts out with basic analysis techniques and then describes the design methodology. Last Updated (Tuesday, 16 February 2010 00:39)
XFOIL Tutorial Part 2Friday, 20 November 2009 20:48 | Written by Aleksey Matyushev | | |
Loading an airfoil for analysis
First of all, the airfoil which is going to be analyzed needs to be loaded into XFOIL. NACA four digit airfoils can be loaded straight from the program, but ALL other airfoils need to be loaded into XFOIL through an input file usually having a “.dat” extension. To load in a four digit series NACA airfoil straight from XFOIL's database, use the following command: NACA XXXX (where XXXX is NACA's airfoil designation). In this tutorial we will analyze a NACA 2432 airfoil, so input the following command into the prompt and hit “ENTER”: XFOIL c>naca 2432 XFOIL will now load the airfoil NACA 2432. To load a custom airfoil you need to use the “LOAD” command and give XFOIL the location of the input file. Using Linux (the directory format is different in UNIX based systems), and having an input file located on the desktop the following command can be given to load an airfoil input file (Test_Airfoil.dat): Last Updated (Tuesday, 16 February 2010 00:39)
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XFOIL Tutorial Part 1Saturday, 31 October 2009 21:34 | Written by Aleksey Matyushev | | |
Launching and navigating XFOILTo launch XFOIL in Windows, execute the executable file after downloading it from the MIT or openAE website. In Linux, simply type “xfoil” in the terminal. XFOIL has a wonderful help system which can called upon at any time by typing “?” in the prompt and hitting “ENTER”. It is also important to note that XFOIL is not case-sensitive, meaning that it does not matter if the commands you type are in capital letters or lower-case. It is also imperative to describe the structure of XFOIL. Although XFOIL is a command based program, it has different operating modes or menus. Each operating mode/menu has a different set of commands which can be given. The diagram below depicts the mode/menu structure of XFOIL. Last Updated (Tuesday, 16 February 2010 00:38)
XFOIL Tutorial Part 3Wednesday, 02 December 2009 03:41 | Written by Aleksey Matyushev | | |
Analyzing the airfoilTo analyze the airfoil you must enter the operational mode of XFOIL. This operational mode can be entered by the following command from the main XFOIL menu: XFOIL c>oper After entering the operational mode of XFOIL, the flow conditions and angle of attack for analysis needs to be given. The angle of attack can be varied by using the following command: Last Updated (Friday, 12 February 2010 20:17)
Digital Datcom Input FilesMonday, 28 December 2009 20:18 | Written by Aleksey Matyushev | | |
{jcomments off}Below is a collection of input files (for005.dat) for the USAF Digital Datcom. Registered users of the community can edit and upload new files while visitors can only download the available files. [This line is replaced by a file repository when the article is viewed] Last Updated (Monday, 28 December 2009 20:23) DATCOM ResourcesFriday, 13 November 2009 20:27 | Written by Aleksey Matyushev | | |
DATCOM is a collection of documents containing all anyone would need to analyse and calculate the stability and control of a given aircraft. Digital DATCOM is actually just a program version of all these documents. The documents feature a multitude of useful graphs, figures, and formulas that are widely used and accepted today. DATCOM is an invaluable resource in aeronautical engineering and by many is considered the bible of aircraft stability and control analysis. The DATCOM collection is quite daunting in size and information (over 1400 pages) and is not for the faint of heart. There are formulas and charts for a variety of aircraft configurations which can be used extensively for preliminary conceptual design or analysis. Last Updated (Monday, 15 February 2010 18:34)
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UIUC Airfoil DatabaseTuesday, 06 October 2009 01:38 | Written by Aleksey Matyushev | | |
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) Airfoil database is a growing list of airfoil coordinate files and their images. Before 1995, the database had a total collection of about 160 low Reynold's number airfoils. In 1995 David Lednicer contributed his personal collection of over 800 airfoils and the total number of airfoils grew to over 1000. Since then, the UIUC aerospace department has been constantly contributing more and more airfoils. Last Updated (Sunday, 28 March 2010 17:05)
SciLab vs. MATLABWednesday, 30 December 2009 18:29 | Written by Jesse Hudis | | |
Most of SciLab’s functions can be executed in the same manner as MATLAB; however, many commands have slightly different names. For example, the % comment in MATLAB is substituted with the double forward slash //. The following should be noted about basic functions in SciLab: Similarities to MATLABLast Updated (Sunday, 28 March 2010 17:06)
Digital Datcom ResourcesFriday, 13 November 2009 22:58 | Written by Aleksey Matyushev | | |
The USAF Digital DATCOM application or DigiDat as it is sometimes reffered to, is a program written in FORTRAN that calculates a given aircrafts stability and control coefficients. Further information on the software can be found in our software section. In this section you will find a a variety of resources which we have compiled that will aid everyone from a beginner to a seasoned veteran of this wonderful tool. It should be noted that a variety of these resources can be applied to the original DATCOM, Datcom+, OpenDatcom, or the DR2 prototype software packages. Last Updated (Monday, 15 February 2010 18:34)
Advice To Graduates On Getting Into AerospaceWednesday, 10 February 2010 01:22 | Written by Michael Mealling | | |
This time of year I usually get a few requests from aerospace students about how to get into the business. Some have usually talked to someone who is convinced that aerospace is a dead end business. Over time I’ve developed a few themes that I’ll list here: Old vs NewI’m in the “new” space business so my advice is kind of skewed. This end of the industry is fun, vibrant and cash poor. The “old” end of the business pays well but it is fickle: contracts are canceled, government programs are realigned, and your career is more in the hands of Congress than yours. I don’t know squat about the aeronautical side of the industry. If you are thinking about joining the New side of the industry you should be prepared to be poor and live the “startup” life for a while. Its a fun ride, especially if you are young. Work for NASA but leave before it makes you cynicalParts of NASA can be fun and interesting. NASA Ames is a good example. Having NASA on your resume is valuable (I’m not sure why, but it is). But only stay there a few years or else you will get sucked into the cynicism and bureaucracy. Last Updated (Friday, 12 February 2010 18:58)
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