Leonardo da Vinci’s ornithopter attempted to imitate the flapping flight of birds.
Leonardo studied bird anatomy and flight in detail and designed several machines with wings intended to move through repeated flapping. Some concepts placed a pilot inside a frame who would operate the wings with levers, pedals, or hand movements. These drawings belong to his broader investigations of whether human muscle could produce powered flight.
None of Leonardo’s ornithopter designs became a proven flying machine. Human muscles cannot supply the same power-to-weight ratio as the large flight muscles of birds, and the proposed mechanisms were too heavy or inefficient. Modern ornithopters use engines or other powered systems rather than relying solely on a pilot’s muscles.
An ornithopter differs from Leonardo’s aerial screw: the former produces motion through flapping wings, while the latter uses a rotating helical surface. The word comes from Greek roots meaning “bird” and “wing.”