Leonardo da Vinci designed an ornithopter as a birdlike, human-powered flying machine.
The word ornithopter comes from Greek roots meaning “bird” and “wing.” Leonardo’s surviving notebooks contain several studies of machines intended to imitate the flapping motion of birds’ wings. His designs used wings, frames, and mechanical linkages operated by a pilot, but no known prototype achieved powered flight.
Leonardo also studied gliding and the structure of bird wings. His ornithopter should not be confused with his separate parachute and helical aerial-screw sketches. Modern ornithopters are sometimes built as experimental aircraft or small radio-controlled models, but Leonardo’s proposal remained a theoretical Renaissance design.