Thin airfoils of minimum wave drag with given chord, longitudinal section area, and lift

The problem of profiling optimal airfoils at small incidence in a supersonic stream in order to achieve the minimum wave drag coefficient for given chord, longitudinal section area, and lift coefficient is studied. It is demonstrated that a trailing flat end face plays an important role even for very thin airfoils. Moscow, Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 4, pp. 153–157, July–August, 1998. The study was carried out with the support of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (project No. 96-01-01825).