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Life & fun · May 20, 2025

OF

Olelo Foil - NACA Airfoil Sim

Hi HN! A while back, I started exploring ways to make aerodynamic simulation more interactive and visual for the web. I wanted something that felt immediate—intuitive enough for students, fast enough for hobbyists, and hackable enough for engineers. That’s how Olelo Foil was born. Foil is a browser-based airfoil simulator written in JavaScript using Three.js and WebGL. It lets you interactively explore how airfoils behave under different conditions, all rendered in real time. Right now, it uses simplified fluid models, but I’m working toward integrating Navier-Stokes for more accurate…

In plain words

Olelo Foil is a browser-based airfoil simulator that runs in JavaScript using Three.js and WebGL. It allows users to interactively explore how airfoils perform under different conditions with real-time visualization. The tool is designed for students, hobbyists, and engineers, currently using simplified fluid models with plans to integrate Navier-Stokes equations for greater accuracy. It operates entirely in the browser without requiring specialized software.

written from the facts on this page · September 2026

From the sources

In the maker’s words, at launch

Hi HN! A while back, I started exploring ways to make aerodynamic simulation more interactive and visual for the web. I wanted something that felt immediate—intuitive enough for students, fast enough for hobbyists, and hackable enough for engineers. That’s how Olelo Foil was born. Foil is a browser-based airfoil simulator written in JavaScript using Three.js and WebGL. It lets you interactively explore how airfoils behave under different conditions, all rendered in real time. Right now, it uses simplified fluid models, but I’m working toward integrating Navier-Stokes for more accurate simulations—and I’d love help from anyone interested in fluid dynamics, GPU compute, or numerical solvers. I’m also building Olelo Honua, an educational platform focused on Hawaiian STEM content and digital tools. Foil is one piece of that larger vision—bringing STEM education into the browser with open, accessible tools. Check it out, and if you're interested in collaborating (especially on the physics side), I’d love to connect!

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