Academy 18146 Da Vinci Flying Machine

Leonardo Da Vinci (born in 1452, died in 1519) was undoubtedly one of the most brilliant people of the Renaissance and is widely regarded as one of the most talented people in history. He was not only an exceptionally talented painter, author of such masterpieces as "The Lady with an Ermine" or "The Last Supper", but also an extremely prolific inventor and innovator. One of Leonardo's most interesting and avant-garde projects was his flying machine (Macchina Volante), also known as Ornitottero for short. Sketches of this unusual machine were created around 1490 and are often considered the first, preserved to this day, designs of a device that allows humans to fly. Ornitottero's mechanism of action resulted directly from Leonardo's studies of bird flight. He assumed that this device would be controlled by one man, who in the lying position - with the use of appropriate levers and mechanisms - would set the wings on the sides in motion, as close as possible to the movement of bird wings. It is worth adding that the structure of the wings of this flying machine was very light.