Da Vinci's Aerial Invensions

1. Da Vinci’s
Note: (The
pictures are
hyperlinked to
their respective
Aerial
pages)
Inventions!
By Callum Ferguson!
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2. Some of Da Vinci’s most famous inventions include the tank, the helicopter and the
airplane. Unfortunately Da Vinci did not have the materials required to carry out his
plans and so many of them were never made. But the ideas behind those plans have
helped us greatly in this modern day and age as when more and better materials started
to appear many of his plans were carried out. A lot of things were not exactly his
design but they certainly incorporated some of Leonardo’s ideas. For example the
concept of sloped armour is found on tanks even today. Keep reading to explore his
inventions, most of which have built the foundation for many of our inventions today.
INTRODUCTION

3. Leonardo Da Vinci had a fascination with
flight and aviation ever since he was born,
perhaps that is why he created the amazing
aerial inventions that he did. One of his
favourite areas of study was aviation; he
seemed to be amazed with the possibility of
people flying through the air like birds.
Historians believe that it was this very
fascination that inspired him to create the
anemometer, which was a tool for measuring
wind speed. He hoped that one day the
anemometer could give people insight
into the direction of the wind before
attempting flight.
ANEMOMETER

4. Another invention of his that was to do with
aviation was the flying machine. It shows his
fascination and enthusiasm for the idea of flight.
Unfortunately, although the flying machine could
hold itself up while in flight it did not have the
power to get off of the ground. Da Vinci’s flying
machine was quite big, with a wingspan of 33 feet.
The frame would have been made of pine covered
in silk to create a light but sturdy membrane. It
would be flown by someone lying face down in
the centre of the machine on a board. To make the
wings flap the pilot would pedal a crank connected
to a rod-and-pulley system. The flying machine
also contained a hand crank for extra energy
output and a head piece for steering.
FLYING MACHINE

5. Not only did he make a flying machine but he
created an idea for a helicopter. It would have
measured over 15 feet in diameter. It would be
powered by four men standing on a central
platform turning cranks that would rotate the
shaft. With enough rotation Leonardo believed
that the invention would have lifted off the
ground. Unfortunately due to the weight of the
helicopter scientists do not believe that the
invention would have worked.
HELICOPTER

6. • Finally, Leonardo invented something that
has allowed people to jump off of planes
and land on the ground without injury.
Introducing… The Parachute!!! Though the
invention of the first practical parachute
was invented by Sebastien Lenormand in
1783 Leonardo Da Vinci actually designed
one a couple of hundred years before this.
Like a lot of Da Vinci’s inventions, this was
never actually built by anyone, that is until
in 200 daredevil Adrian Nichols
constructed a parachute based on Da
Vinci’s design and tested it. Despite what
experts thought, Da Vinci’s design worked
as intended. Even Adrian himself noted that
it had a smoother ride then the modern
parachute.
PARACHUTE