Leonardo da Vinci’s rigid-wing aircraft concept was a glider inspired by the flight of birds.
Leonardo made several studies of gliding and flying machines, including designs with rigid wings that depended on aerodynamic lift rather than powered flapping. His observations of birds led him to consider how wing shape, balance, and air currents could support a person in flight.
A glider differs fundamentally from an ornithopter: it has no flapping propulsion system. It also differs from Leonardo’s aerial screw, which proposed lifting through a rotating helical surface. Leonardo’s surviving flight studies often combine speculative engineering with careful observation, so individual drawings should not be treated as one standardized aircraft model.
None of Leonardo’s human-carrying gliders is known to have achieved controlled flight. The designs nevertheless show that he considered several distinct routes to aviation: flapping wings, passive gliding, and rotary lift.