Leonardo da Vinci sketched a glider, an aircraft intended to descend and glide using fixed wings.
Unlike his ornithopter designs, which depended on flapping wings, Leonardo’s glider concepts relied on aerodynamic surfaces and air currents. Some drawings show a pilot positioned within or beneath a wing structure, with the body restrained by a harness or support frame.
Leonardo did not have access to modern wind tunnels, lightweight materials, or a reliable theory of lift. His glider studies therefore remained experimental drawings rather than working aircraft. They are important because they show Leonardo considering sustained, controlled gliding separately from powered or flapping flight.