Plotting

Once you've imported an airfoil, it will plot automatically (unless you've modified your preferences). The only other data that is required to draw the airfoil is the chord, which is preset to 8 inches, 20 cm, or 200 mm, depending on the units the plot is created with.

By default, MacFoil redraws any time you change a number in a field or the value of a checkbox. You can turn this behavior off, if you like, in the preferences. For numbers in fields, MacFoil will redraw as soon as you leave the field (by hitting the tab key, for instance, or by clicking in a different field). Alternatively, you can click on the "Plot" button or hit the return or enter keys at any time to force a redrawm with the current data.

Plotting Options

Several checkboxes at the bottom of the plot window control what is drawn:

Show chord line: When checked, the chord line is drawn as a dashed line.

Show camber line: When checked, the camber line is drawn as a dashed line.

Show thick point: When checked, a vertical line is drawn at the airfoil's thickest point, and the line is labeled.

Show plot info text: When checked, text will be drawn just under the airfoil that shows the airfoil file name, the chord, the sheeting allowance (if any), the thickness and camber of the airfoil, and the washout angle (if any).

Show data points: When checked, small circles will be drawn around each data point on the airfoil.

Invert airfoil: When checked, the airfoil is drawn inverted.