Leonardo da Vinci designed an ornithopter, a flying machine intended to fly by flapping wings inspired by birds.
Leonardo studied bird anatomy, wing movement, and air resistance in notebooks produced during the late 15th and early 16th centuries. His designs included a human-powered machine with large wings, but the available human muscles could not produce enough power for sustained flight.
An ornithopter is different from a glider, which flies with fixed wings, and from a helicopter, which uses rotating blades. Leonardo’s machine was a design rather than a successfully tested aircraft. No evidence shows that he built a working full-sized version.
His investigations nevertheless contributed to the history of aviation because they connected observation of animals with mechanical design. Leonardo also explored parachutes, gliding devices, and a rotating aerial screw, showing that he considered several different solutions to human flight.