Leonardo da Vinci’s rotating-wing aircraft design from the 1480s is commonly called the aerial screw.
Leonardo sketched the machine in a notebook, describing a helical linen surface mounted around a central shaft. His concept was intended to rise if the screw rotated rapidly enough, making it an early study of vertical flight. The surviving drawing is a design study rather than evidence of a working aircraft.
The aerial screw is often compared with the modern helicopter, but the two are not identical. A helicopter uses powered rotor blades that generate lift through aerodynamic airfoils; Leonardo’s drawing relies on a spiral surface and does not show a practical engine or a complete control system. The idea nevertheless demonstrates his interest in translating mechanical rotation into upward motion.
The design is also sometimes called Leonardo’s helicopter, but “aerial screw” is the standard historical name. It should not be confused with his separate flapping-wing ornithopter studies.