Does anyone know where i can find a spreadsheet that will work in
openoffice.org or software for ubuntu for plotting airfoil coordinates
and then use the data to print an airfoil up to 16 Ft.long?
Thanks Steve

Open office comes with a spread sheet that will work.
The hard part is finding a plotter 16 feet long.

Somebody may have a plotter than can plot 16 feet
by unrolling the paper or better yet mylar.

Lacking that I suggest doing it in four foot segments and taking it
to Kinkos to be plotted. Then cut and paste them together.

I was just kidding about building a B747 :)

Paul Lamar


Steve,  The coordinates in Theory of Wing Sections or Harry Riblets book
are not a connect the dots and have an airfoil.  What you need to do is use
the ordinates as control points for a polyline in a Cad program.  I did a
lot of them in autocad years ago and it is very easy.  Start at the trailing
edge and enter all the points around the airfoil back to the trailing edge.

Ignore the "leading edge radius" it is innacurate. The CAD program calulates
the actual curve which will match the  Riblett  calculated leading edge
ordinates. I do an airfoil with a 100 inch chord then to make an airfoil of
any size multiply the scale by the chord in inches. For instance a 67" chord
scale by .67 .For printing look up an inkjet wide format printer which works
off a roll of paper up to 300 feet long. Common paper widths are 30, 36, and
42 inches. You can also have it done on a heavier paper or vinyl sign
material with a self adhesive backing. These printers lurk around metal
fabrication shops and boat building yards.

George Grimes

Rhino also does this.

If you just plot the points you can get a good
approximation by bending a piece of sheet metal over several points.
That was the way it was done hundreds of years ago for ships.

Paul Lamar