Calculators built for people who already have data
Most online aero calculators ask you to guess a lift coefficient. ADS Calculator starts from a polar you computed: an XFOIL run, a CFD sweep or wind tunnel data saved as a text or CSV file. It turns that section data into a finite wing, gives you forces at your speed and air conditions, and lets you add any column you need next to the polar.
Every number on the page has an Explain button. It opens the formula, defines every symbol with the value used, substitutes the numbers line by line and checks the units, so you can follow the calculation and repeat it on paper.
Free, and connected to your simulations
All calculators work without an account with typed values or an uploaded file. With a free Aero Design Studio account you can load the polars of your saved XFOIL simulations and CFD sweeps in one click.
Which file formats can I load?
XFOIL and XFLR5 polar text files, the polar files and CFD polar exports of Aero Design Studio, and any CSV, TSV or space separated table with columns for the angle of attack, CL and CD (CM is optional). The columns are found by their names, in any order and spelling: alpha or AoA, CL or Cz, CD or Cx, with or without units, with decimal points or decimal commas. Where the names are missing or unknown, the calculator shows the first rows and asks which column is which before it loads anything.
What should a polar file look like?
One row for each angle of attack under a line of column names. The angle is in degrees, the moment coefficient is optional, and other columns are kept:
# Re: 500000 # Ncrit: 9 alpha,CL,CD,CM 0,0.4711,0.00692,-0.1011 2,0.7013,0.00762,-0.1015 4,0.9116,0.00884,-0.0988
The Reynolds number and Ncrit are read from lines such as Re = 0.500 e 6, Re: 500000 or Ncrit = 9 above the table. A table with mostly negative CL is read as a wing that makes downforce. The Import data dialog shows the same rules next to the layout of the polar files that Aero Design Studio saves.
How accurate are the results?
As accurate as the polar you load and the assumptions listed in each explanation. The calculators are engineering estimates for learning and early design, not certified data.