What was Leonardo da Vinci’s wing-flapping flying machine called?

Leonardo da Vinci’s wing-flapping flying-machine concept was an ornithopter.

The word ornithopter comes from Greek roots meaning “bird” and “wing.” It describes an aircraft intended to fly by flapping wings, rather than by using a fixed wing, rotor, or balloon. Leonardo studied birds and bats and produced several designs based on their wing movements and anatomy.

Leonardo’s ornithopter drawings were important attempts to analyze flight mechanically. Some versions placed a person inside or below a framework, with pedals, levers, and pulleys intended to move the wings. However, the designs were not practical aircraft. Human muscles cannot supply the sustained power required for a machine of the proposed size, and the structures available in Renaissance Italy were too heavy.

An ornithopter is not the same as Leonardo’s aerial screw. The aerial screw uses a rotating helical surface, while an ornithopter imitates the flapping action of a bird. Modern experimental ornithopters exist, but Leonardo’s machines remained designs and studies rather than successful powered aircraft.