Leonardo da Vinci studied the ornithopter, a bird-inspired flying machine with flapping wings.
The word ornithopter comes from Greek roots meaning “bird” and “wing.” Leonardo filled notebooks with observations of birds, bats, and the mechanics of flight. He explored machines in which a person would power wings by moving levers, pedals, or other mechanisms.
His studies were valuable because they examined lift, balance, wing shape, and the relationship between a bird’s skeleton and its flight. However, a human pilot could not generate enough power to flap wings of the required size.
Leonardo also investigated gliding designs and rotary flight. Those ideas should not be confused: an ornithopter flaps wings, a glider relies on aerodynamic lift without powered flapping, and an aerial screw uses rotary motion.