Leonardo da Vinci designed an ornithopter with wings inspired by bats.
An ornithopter is a flying machine intended to stay aloft by flapping wings, rather than by using a fixed wing, rotor, or lighter-than-air balloon. Leonardo studied birds and bats and sketched mechanisms that could transfer movement from a pilot or mechanical system to large wings.
His drawings show that he was interested in both anatomy and engineering. He examined how birds generated lift and how their wings changed shape during flight. However, the materials and power available in Renaissance Europe were not sufficient to make a human-powered machine of his proposed scale fly successfully.
Leonardo’s ornithopter should not be confused with his parachute, which was designed to descend safely, or his aerial screw, which is often described as a helicopter-like concept. The ornithopter’s defining feature is flapping propulsion modeled on animals.