What type of wings did Leonardo da Vinci study for a human-powered flying machine?

Leonardo da Vinci studied flapping wings for a human-powered flying machine.

Leonardo’s ornithopter ideas were based on observing birds and bats. An ornithopter is an aircraft designed to fly by flapping wings, rather than by using fixed wings or a rotating rotor. Leonardo sketched several mechanisms in which a pilot would operate wing structures through pedals, levers or other forms of human power.

His studies were important for the history of flight because they examined lift, balance and the movement of wings in detail. However, a human pilot cannot generate enough sustained power through muscles alone to make a practical bird-sized aircraft fly.

Leonardo also explored gliding and screw-based flight concepts. These should not be merged into one machine: the ornithopter depended on flapping motion, while his aerial screw used a helical lifting surface.