Leonardo da Vinci’s wing-flapping flying-machine design is called an ornithopter.
The word ornithopter comes from Greek roots meaning “bird” and “wing.” An ornithopter is an aircraft intended to fly by flapping wings, rather than by using fixed wings or a powered rotor. Leonardo studied birds and bats and filled notebooks with observations about lift, balance, wing structure, and air movement.
His designs included large wings connected to a pilot’s movements, but the machines would not have generated enough power for human flight. Leonardo’s studies were therefore important as investigations of flight rather than successful aircraft. He also explored gliding and screw-shaped aerial devices, which are often confused with ornithopters.
The term describes the machine’s method of producing lift, not a particular Leonardo model. Modern ornithopters have been built as experimental aircraft and small unmanned devices, but they remain uncommon compared with airplanes and helicopters.