What aircraft concept did Leonardo da Vinci design with flapping wings?

Leonardo da Vinci designed an ornithopter, an aircraft concept with flapping wings. The word ornithopter means a flying machine that gains lift or propulsion through birdlike wing movement.

Leonardo studied birds, bats, and the mechanics of flight extensively. His notebooks contain several proposals in which a human pilot would operate large wings through levers, pedals, or other mechanical linkages. These sketches show his effort to translate biological motion into an engineered machine.

The designs were not successful aircraft. Human muscles cannot produce enough sustained power to flap wings of the required size while also lifting a person and the machine. Leonardo eventually explored other approaches, including gliding and rotary lifting concepts, but none became a practical aircraft during his lifetime.

An ornithopter is different from a glider, which relies on aerodynamic surfaces and moving air rather than repeated flapping. Leonardo’s work remains important because it connected close observation of animal anatomy with systematic studies of forces, balance, and air resistance.