Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) was a patient observer, meticulous note-taker, and inventive thinker. From the dragonfly to his dreams of flying machines—the tangible and intangible—Leonardo paid attention, drawing correlations between water and wind currents.
Leonardo was a passionate and dedicated learner, continually changing his perspective to better understand flight. Wind, lift, balance, and stability are challenging concepts to visualize, however innate they are to flight.
In his Codex on the Flight of Birds, Leonardo examined the acrobatics of flight. He observed that the slightest adjustment of the wing or tail produced dramatic effects. In this manuscript, Leonardo’s drawings of mechanical wings are found alongside his studies of the kite, a member of the Accipitridae family. Leonardo studied the kite’s aerial navigation of wind currents. He noticed the bird's use of updrafts to sustain thermal soaring.
An observation of the flight of the dragonfly:
“When one rises, the other lowers. The dragonfly flies with four wings and when those in front rise, and those behind are lowered. But each pair must by itself be sufficient to support all the weight.”
Leonardo da Vinci, Codex Atlanticus
