Study of an articulated wing for a flying machine
A ribbed wing with control rods and a tensioning device; its centre marked 'cloth'
The leaf is filled by a large, carefully drawn study of an articulated wing for a flying machine, its curved ribs radiating like those of a bat or bird and joined by rods, rings and cords to a control frame at the upper right. A separate detail at the lower right shows part of the operating apparatus, with a windlass or spring-tensioner. At the centre of the wing membrane Leonardo has written the single word 'cloth', indicating the covering material stretched over the frame.
On this page
Membrane of the wing marked 'cloth'
Across the fan of ribs Leonardo notes at the centre that the surface is to be of cloth, specifying the fabric membrane that would be stretched between the wing's spars to catch the air.
Wing frame and operating mechanism
The ribs are connected by straight rods, lashings and rings to a rigid control frame at the upper right, while a lower-right detail isolates a windlass or tensioning drum, together forming the mechanism that would articulate the wing.