Airfoil/Application Design Integration

Each application requires a specific performance from the airfoil; therefore, an airfoil should be designed for each application. No airfoil can be considered "best" in a general sense, only with respect to the specific application (ref.). The airfoil design and the application design are so strongly connected that the overall design process is iterative, as illustrated below. Accordingly, close communication between the application designer and the airfoil designer is required.

Maughmer, Mark D.; and Somers, Dan M.: Figures of Merit for Airfoil/Aircraft Design Integration. AIAA Paper 88-4416, Sept. 1988.