What did Leonardo da Vinci’s aerial screw attempt to make possible?

Leonardo da Vinci’s aerial screw attempted to make vertical flight possible.

Leonardo sketched the aerial screw in the 1480s as a large helical device supported by a circular platform. His notes suggested that if the screw were rapidly rotated, its spiral surface could press against the air and lift the structure upward. The concept is often compared with a helicopter rotor, although it could not have flown as drawn using Renaissance materials and human power.

The aerial screw was a theoretical design, not a documented working aircraft. It lacked an engine powerful and light enough to provide the necessary rotation, and its large sail-like surface would have been difficult to control.

The sketch remains important in the history of flight because it shows Leonardo studying air as a medium that could support a machine. Modern helicopters achieve vertical flight with powered rotating blades, a related principle developed with much more efficient aerodynamics and propulsion.