Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised May 31, 2026

Freestream

The freestream is the air far upstream of an aerodynamic body, that is, before the body has a chance to deflect, slow down or compress the air. Freestream conditions are usually denoted with a symbol, e.g. , meaning the freestream velocity.

Last revised
May 31, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
61 w
Citations
Source

The freestream is the air far upstream of an aerodynamic body, that is, before the body has a chance to deflect, slow down or compress the air. Freestream conditions are usually denoted with a {\displaystyle \infty } symbol, e.g. V {\displaystyle V_{\infty }} , meaning the freestream velocity.

References

References

  • Anderson, John D., 1989. Introduction to Flight, 3rd Ed. McGraw-Hill