Leonardo da Vinci designed a screw-shaped flying machine called the aerial screw.
Leonardo drew the aerial screw in the early 1480s in the manuscript now known as the Codex Atlanticus. Its design used a large helical surface made from reeds, linen, and starch, mounted on a circular platform. Leonardo suggested that turning the screw could make it rise through the air, an idea often compared with the modern helicopter rotor.
The aerial screw was a concept, not a proven aircraft. No evidence shows that Leonardo built a working full-scale version, and the materials and power available in Renaissance Italy could not have produced enough lift. The drawing is nevertheless important because it shows Leonardo reasoning about vertical flight rather than relying only on wings.
It is sometimes called a “helicopter,” but that modern label can be misleading. The machine had a rotating screw concept, while a helicopter uses powered rotors and aerodynamic principles developed centuries later.