Flying machine worked standing upright, with wing mechanism
The aviator stands, legs driving the wings and hands left free
The drawings show the apparatus of a human-powered flying machine: paired pulley-and-frame units at the top, a slatted upright drum with cords, a housing with a hopper and cylinders, and at lower left a jointed lever arm with a wheel and a bell-shaped weight. The accompanying note argues that the pilot should operate the machine standing rather than lying prone, so that the instrument cannot capsize and the hands stay free while the legs raise and lower the wing. Leonardo labels the parts by letter: the feet rest and press at r, S, t and sit in the stirrups K, h; Q fastens at the waist; m, n pass under the arms behind the shoulders; o marks the place of the head; and the wing raises and lowers by turning and folding on itself. Lines of mirror-writing run across the foot of the sheet.
On this page
Why the pilot should stand rather than lie prone
Leonardo concludes that standing upright is more useful than lying face-down, because the instrument can then never turn upside-down and long practice favours it. The raising and lowering of the wing beat is produced by lowering and raising the two legs, which gives great strength while leaving the hands free; lying prone, the thigh-joints would tire in merely supporting the legs.
How the operator is fitted to the machine
The body's attachment is set out by letter: the feet touch r, S and t and, raised, support the instrument, playing up and down to lift the feet from the ground; Q clamps at the waist; the feet sit in the stirrups K and h; m and n pass under the arms behind the shoulders; and o is the place of the head.
Wing-actuating frame and pulleys
The upper sheet carries paired pulley-and-post frames and a tall slatted drum threaded with cords, with a housing below holding a hopper and cylinders and, at lower left, a jointed lever arm ending in a wheel and a bell-shaped weight. These are the moving parts that drive the wing described in the note.