Leonardo da Vinci’s spiral machine designed to rise vertically like a helicopter is called the aerial screw.
Leonardo sketched the aerial screw in the Codex Atlanticus around 1489. Its large helical sail was intended to be rotated so that the air beneath it would lift the structure. The design is often described as an early helicopter concept, although it was not a working helicopter and Leonardo did not build a full-scale flying version.
The aerial screw drew on Leonardo’s observations of screws, water, air, and the flight of birds. Its frame was envisioned as a circular structure covered with reeds, linen, and a sealing material. The design’s historical importance lies in identifying vertical lift as a separate aviation problem.
A common mix-up is calling it a helicopter. “Aerial screw” is the name of Leonardo’s proposed machine; modern helicopters use powered rotors, engines, and control systems that his sketch did not provide.