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_1 Flying machines and studies on flight
_2xx Macchine da guerra
101 ~ Aerial Screw ~ Manuscript B, f. 83v (1489)

 

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  Leonardo describes the drawing’s function on folio 83v of Manuscript B (preserved in the Institut de France in Paris): it’s not actually a helicopter but an experiment with an aerial “screw”. To see a design by Leonardo that’s more like a helicopter with 4 propellers, we’d have to leaf back a few pages through Manuscript B to folio 80r. Leonardo proposed an experiment to verify that air is a fluid, which can be pressed and “leaned on” in order to push oneself up in flight. If this were the case, one could also make a “screw” spin, which would move itself up by pushing the air down.


102 ~ Flapping Wing Experiment ~ Manuscript B, f. 88v (1487-1489)

 


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  An experimental machine used to verify the capacity of human force to flap with enough energy to move the wing. Another interpretation is that the machine could have been useful in verifying the behaviour of the wing itself during the powerful movements required for its use.

103 ~ Wing System ~ Manuscript B, f. 74r (1488)

 

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  Dopo lunghissime osservazioni sul volo e sull' anatomia degli uccelli, Leonardo concepisce questa struttura ad imitazione dello scheletro di un pipistrello.

104 ~ Mechanisms for Mechanical Wings ~ Codex Atlanticus, f. 1051r (1480-1485)
 

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  La vite doppia inversa consente di velocizzare le corse rettilinee necessaria per far muovere l'ala: con mezzo giro della leva la corsa viene duplicata. La campanella è il punto dove viene agganciata l'estremità inferiore dell'ala.

105 ~ Dragonfly ~ Codex Ashburnham I, f. 10v
 

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  This was originally the first folio in Manuscript B, the work Leonardo dedicated primarily to the study of possible flying machines. It is presumed that the genius from Vinci began studies for these machines inspired by nature, observing insects and flying creatures, in this case a dragonfly.

106 ~ Mechanical wings ~ Codex Atlanticus, f. 844r
 

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  This is a study of mechanical structures for imitating the movement of bird’s wings. It seems to be Leonardo’s intention to experiment with these devices by using a small-scale model covered in feathers. When the lower shaft is set in motion the wing is moved up and down and the pulley simultaneously pulls the struts that bend the tips of the wings.

107 ~ Flying machine ~ Manuscript B, f. 74v - 75r

 

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Una delle versioni di macchina volante progettata da Leonardo.
La posizione del pilota era supina e i meccanismi venivano azionati con due pedali.


108 ~ Articulated wing system ~ Manuscript B, f. 74v - 75r
 

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Una delle diverse versioni di macchina volante progettata da Leonardo.
Questo aliante poteva muovere le ali in su ed in giù tramite il movimento alternato di due pedali.


109 ~ Glider ~ Codex Madrid I, f. 64r

 

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Il progetto dell'aliante è tra i più originali tra quelli sul volo. Il suo funzionamento è molto simile a quello di un moderno aquilone: la struttura planante in tela è manovrabile tramite due coppie di corde che permettono di spostarla a destra/sinistra e su/giù in modo da direzionare il mezzo.


110 ~ Flying machine ~ Codex Atlanticus, f. 70r
 

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In the folio 70r we find a project for a flying machine. The designs at the top represent a side view of the wing curve. In the center, a very faint drawing shows the overall front view with a person outlined in the middle. Below, there is a detailed design of the left wing and to its side are specific details for its attachment to the central structure.


111 ~ Ornithopter ~ Manuscript B, f. 80r
 

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112 ~ Wire-controlled bird ~ Codex of Flight, f. 15v
 

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Leonardo has designed a special instrument for measuring the center of gravity and the position of equilibrium of a model bird.


113 ~ Mechanical Dragonfly ~ Codex Atlanticus, f. 1051v
 

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Does the design on folio 1051v of the Codex Atlanticus hide the first aeronautical engine in history? Leonardo drew a structure5 containing a device with a spring. This is not a preliminary design but a very concrete idea that he studied purposefully to use in flight, evidenced by the writing bird and cause of movement flanking the drawings. The mechanism was researched thoroughly, since the four wings placed in the upper part would modify their angle as they flap up and down.


114 ~ Great Kite ~ Codex on Flight
 

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The machine’s reconstruction is to be considered faithful to Leonardo’s idea. Despite the absence of the machine drawn in its entirety, there is little space for free interpretation and the textual indications supply excellent guidelines; likewise for fundamental constructive matters, such as the dimensions, the materials and the positioning of the center of gravity. The existence of this design could never be put into question, though it was obviously subject to modification. Indeed, in the course of future studies, some mechanisms may be perfected or their functioning reconsidered.

_Leonardo's machines
 
- Page of simple machines
- Page of meccanismi composti

- Page of flying machines and studies on flight
- Page of war machines
- Page of machines for use with and on water
- Page of industrial and building machines
- Page of theatrical machines
- Page of musical machines
- Page of miscellaneous machines
- Page of geometrical studies

- Page of machines designed by other Renaissance engineers
 
   
 
 

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