Leonardo da Vinci sketched an aerial screw as a possible way to rise into the air.
The aerial screw, drawn around 1489, has a large helical surface wrapped around a central mast. Leonardo’s notes suggest that the rotating screw might “screw” itself upward through the air, much as a screw moves through a solid material. The idea is often described as a distant conceptual ancestor of the helicopter.
It was not a helicopter in the modern engineering sense. Leonardo did not provide a workable engine, a complete control system, or a tested rotor capable of lifting a person. The design therefore demonstrates imaginative aerodynamic reasoning more than a practical aircraft.
The sketch is sometimes called Leonardo’s helicopter, but that label can create confusion. A helicopter depends on rotating rotor blades that generate lift, while Leonardo’s proposed helical sail had different geometry and unresolved problems involving weight, power, and stability. Its historical importance lies in recognizing vertical flight as a mechanical possibility.