Leonardo’s Flying Machines

Genius

Leonardo’s sketchbooks became

more than just a

place to draw. They

became a record of

his fascination with

nature and his

genius for invention.

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.

ANEMOMETER

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.

FLYING

MACHINE

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.

HELICOPTER

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.

PARACHUTE

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.

Features of his sketchbooks

• Multiple pencil drawings and sketches

• Backwards form of writing that could only

be read with a mirror (Some historians

speculate he did it to keep his writings

private Others think that because he was

left-handed, he just found it easier and faster

to write this way)

• Lab note style, minimal organisation

Leonardo’s Codices Presently, there are ten known codices

containing Leonardo’s sketches and notes.

Flying Machines

Leonardo’s designs and notes for flying

machines appear in

several different

codices.

Flying Machine Copying the style of Leonardo

da Vinci, design a page from a

codex that shows the

development of ideas for a

flying machine.

Essential Features

• Multiple design sketches

• Mirror writing (translated into

Italian if desired)

• A central 3-dimensional

design, created using mixed

media

• Aged – watercolour wash, ink

spots, fountain pen/art-line

3-dimensional models Examples of flying machines modelled from

Leonardo’s codex designs.

3-dimensional

models

Examples of flying

machines modelled

from Leonardo’s codex designs.

ORNITHOPTERS

Ornithopter is a Greek word which means bird wing .

(Ornithos-bird & pteron-wing).

It is basically an aircraft which flies by flapping its wings. They are designed to imitate the flapping wing flight of birds, insects and bats.

Origin:

Leonardo Da Vinci, in the year 1485, started to study the flight of birds and designed a device on which an aviator lies on a plank which are powered through hand levers.

It is a misconception that Leonardo Da Vinci invented ornithopters. The idea was developed quite before his time and he only elaborated and extended it further and contributed to the development.

The first ornithopters capable of flight were constructed in France by Jobert in 1871.

Erich Von Holst was the first person to have successfully built an ornithopter with bending wings, capable of flapping which would actually resemble the flapping action of birds.

Spencer orniplane, which is known to have successfully flown by the power of an engine, was built in 1961 by Percival Spencer and John Stephenson.

From then on the ornithopters have technologically advanced making them currently applicable in various fields.

Types of ornithopters: These machines are of two generl types-those with engines

and those powered by the muscles of the pilot.

ORNITHOPTERS Free-flight

Radio-controlled

Robotic

Manned

Structure: Membrane type ornithopters are the simplest of all types.

The membrane wing consists of a rigid structural member called a spar at the leading edge to which a membrane is attached towards the rear side which is further attached to the body. This structure of the ornithopters resembles the structure of the birds where the rigid structure is concentrated at the front of the wings.

Membranes can be constructed using various materials. Traditional rubber-band- powered ornithopters are made from balsa wood, with either a light weight tissue paper, or a plastic film forming the wing membrane.

Radio controlled ornithopters mostly use carbon fiber rods for the wing spars. It is also possible to make wing spars from bamboo. The wing membrane can be made from a plastic film.

Battens can also be added, to help extend the outline of the wing membrane. Adding battens to the wing makes it resemble the wing of a bat.

Differences between fixed wing aircrafts and ornithopters:

The major and the most important difference is that ornithopters have flapping wings instead of fixed wings.

These flapping wings of ornithopters have considerable advantages over the fixed wing aircrafts.

Unlike the general aircrafts, ornithopters produce high lift at low speeds without the tendency to stall.

They provide improved efficiency and high maneuverability.

Also, fixed wing airplanes need a minimum velocity to take of and become airborne, which is called the take-off velocity. This need not be attained by ornithopters for flying.

Ornithopters have considerable amount of lift and thrust which helps them overcome the counter effects of drag and weight.

Disadvantages: Ornithoptors find very limited application range as

they are a very inefficient method of flying. A quadcopter using the same amount of motor power can fly faster, further and for much longer on the same amount of battery or fuel.

They are more expensive than quadcopter of similar size.

The biggest problem associated with these are noise and battery life.

Applications: Since ornithopters resemble birds, they can be used in military

for aerial reconaissance.

Ornithopters can save lives by chasing birds away from airp

Aerial reconnaissance is

the strategic method

implemented by the

military to obtain the

intelligence imagery of

earth. It also captures

the topography of earth from higher altitudes and hence can be used for spotting enemy maneuvers.

Ornithopters can save lives by chasing birds away from the airport runways.

With a video camera installed, they can even be used for spy missions.

The radio-controlled robot bird is used to scare away birds that could damage the engines of airplanes.

They are used for forestry and wildlife survey.

Also, they find their applications in traffic monitoring

Thank you

WE RISE BY LIFTING

OTHERS

INTRODUCTION: A large balloon that is filled with heated air and

that floats in the sky with a basket underneath

for people to ride in.

HISTORY: 1.The first untethered manned hot air balloon flight was performed by

Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes on

November 21, 1783, in Paris.

2.There first hot-air balloon flown in the Americas was launched from the

Walnut Street Jail in Philadelphia on January 9, 1793 by the French

aeronaut Jean Pierre Blanchard

3.A hot air balloon is a lighter than air aircraft consisting of a bag, called

an envelope, which contains heated air.

Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier

MECHANISM: The hot air balloon is the first successful human-carrying flight technology

Hot air balloons that can be propelled through the air rather than simply drifting

with the wind are known as thermal airships.

Hot air balloon is made up of 3 main parts the

1.Envelope: The actual fabric balloon which holds the air

2.The Burner: The unit which propels the heat up inside the envelope

3.The Basket: Where the passengers and pilot stand.

GENERATING LIFT:

Civil War Ballooning: At the beginning of the Civil War, Joseph Henry (then secretary of the

Smithsonian), lent support to aeronaut Thaddeus Lowe, who wanted to

demonstrate to President Lincoln the potential for balloons to be used

for military reconnaissance.

Thaddeus Lowe reconnoitering at Battle of Fair Oaks and telegraphing to McClellan's headquarters

APPLICATIONS: SPORTS :

Ballooning is a popular sport these days and is growing

all the time, from competitions in smaller races at local

balloon festivals through to larger national and

international events. PROMOTION & ADVERTISING:

Some companies choose to use hot air balloons as a means of

advertising their products, so will have a 'Special Shape' balloon

envelope made or will simply advertise on the side of a typical

hot air balloon envelope.

COMMERCIAL & LEISURE:

The main use of a hot air balloon is for commercial flights, for

the public to book a flight and go up for the day.

ADVANTAGES:

1.HIGH VISIBILITY: A hot air balloon can be seen much faster

than any billboard.

2.FLEXIBILITY: We can customize hot air balloons to best

represent your company.

3.BRANDING: People will see the hot air balloon and your

company will become etched in their minds.

4.VERSATILITY: You have many options for advertising and

branding.

5.EXCITEMENT AND BUZZ: When have you seen someone run

up to a billboard? People literally chase down your balloon to

see what name is on it.

DRAWBACKS:

1.Hot air balloons can be extremely difficult to launch, and doing

so safely requires a large team of personnel.

2. As for helium filled balloons you need helium, whereas helium is

expensive and rare.

BY

SAI DEEKSHA

SRINITHI

SONI

SAI SHREYA

AIRSHIPS

history

Henri Giffard 1852

Renard and Krebs La France 1884

Airship

In 1895, the first distinctly

rigid airship was built by

German David Schwarz

His design led to the successful development

of the zeppelin, a rigid airship built by Count

zeppelin

During the 1920s and 1930s, Britain, Germany,

and the United States focused on developing

large, rigid, passenger-carrying airships

Goodyear is a name sononymous with the maufacture of blimps

Goodyear manufactured over 300 blimps

models of airships

Rc model

TYPES OF AIRSHIPS

RIGID AIESHIP

TYPES IN RIGID AIRSHIPS

SCHÜTTE-LANZ AIRSHIPS Zeppelins

from 1900 until 1938 from 1909 until 1917

NON-RIGID AIRSHIPS

Semi-rigid airship

BALOONS

MECHANISM OF AIRSHIP

The envelope is usually made of a combination of man-

made materials: Dacron, polyester, Mylar(or) Tedlar bonded

with Hytrel

GONDOLA

industries

Hybrid Air Vehicles Ltd (2007)

Advanced Airship Corporation (AAC)

American Skyship Industries

MOORING MAST

DESTRUCTION OF AIRSHIP

Hindenburg disaster

occurred on May 6, 1937

The Hindenburg over

Manhattan, New York on

May 6, 1937

size comparision of airships

Landing

conclusion with modern skyships