Mechanical Wing of Bent Cane and Thin Paper
Construction notes for a flying-machine wing, with a short word list
The verso carries studies for a mechanical wing, drawn as curved ribbed structures across the sheet. Leonardo's captions specify its construction: canes armed and bent by force and bound firmly together, arranged three canes to a station, with a covering of paper and, for the lightest version, very thin paper. Turned on its left side the leaf also bears a short list of three words. Faint further drawing and offset writing show through from the recto.
On this page
Ribbed wing built of bent cane
The main drawing lays out a curved, ribbed wing framework. The notes explain that its spars are canes armed and bent by force and well bound together, grouped three canes to a station, giving the springy skeleton needed for a beating flight surface.
Cane frame covered with thin paper
Further captions label the covering of the wing: paper stretched over the cane frame, and at the lower openwork wing, very thin paper. Together the notes describe the light cane-and-paper membrane construction of the mechanical wing.