Leonardo da Vinci’s aerial screw used a pyramid-shaped frame to support a rotating lifting screw.
The aerial screw is one of Leonardo’s most famous flight concepts. His drawing shows a large helical surface made from reeds or similar light materials, held by a framework. Leonardo suggested that people could rotate the structure, causing the helical surface to press against the air and lift the machine, an idea often compared with the principle of a modern helicopter rotor.
The concept was not a working helicopter. The proposed materials, human power, and aerodynamic arrangement would not have been sufficient for practical sustained flight. The machine’s importance lies in its early recognition that a rotating helical surface might generate vertical lift.
The aerial screw is commonly called Leonardo’s “helicopter,” but that label is retrospective. A modern helicopter uses powered rotors, control systems, and aerodynamic blades developed through later engineering. Leonardo’s device is also different from his ornithopter, which sought lift through flapping wings.