Leonardo da Vinci

Born in 1452, Leonardo da Vinci was by no means placed in the middle of the aerodynamics revolution; rather, he pioneered it. Although better known for his paintings, especially that of the Mona Lisa, da Vinci was one of the most well educated and scientific-minded people of all time. Da Vinci was trained as a painter, but had strong interests in many fields, including geology, astronomy, and anatomy. Additionally, da Vinci explored the field of aerodynamics and aviation.

Prior to da Vinci

Before Leonardo da Vinci had begun his explorations into flight, there was hardly any experimentation in the field. In the 4th century B.C., China used kites to lift people to heights for easier navigation, and communications over distances during battles. In the 13th century, an English monk by the name of Roger Bacon envisioned the idea of air having substance, leading him to the belief that people could be raised in balloons filled with gas which was lighter than air, a notion to be realized some four hundred years later.

Da Vinci's Contributions

Prior to da Vinci's work, no scientist had conducted a detailed examination into the mechanics of flight, nor had anyone approached the notion of powered flight. Da Vinci was the first man to do both. He studied birds' wings, their shape and form, and the flight of birds in the air. He drew out his ideas of flight, including designs for multiple manned ornithopters, planes with flapping wings for a human to operate. He also designed a helicopter which used a corkscrew design for lift, which was designed to be spun by a human.

Unfortunately, like most of da Vinci's work, his aerodynamics ideas were purely that: ideas. His concepts were never realized during his time, and his notions of what humans were able to do was more than slightly unrealistic. He believed that humans had the strength to lift a plane into controlled flight, which humans do not have, without mechanical assistance. Despite the reliance on human-powered flapping, da Vinci's designs for planes are very similar to those for modern lightweight aircraft.