Da Vinci's Flying Machines

1. Flying Machines!

2. What do you think you need to
think about when designing
something you want to fly
through the air?

3. • Leonardo Da Vinci was the
first man to think about
allowing humans to fly like
animals could.
• He designed parachutes and
tried to make flying machines
similar to the birds he
studied.
• He thought that if he could
make wings flap, they would
keep the machine in the air.

4. • He designed a human-powered ornithopter (a wing-
flapping device) but it did not work for him.
• People testing his experiments later realised it
worked ok on small planes with low flying speeds,
but it was hard to power such great long wings
with just a person’s strength.

5. • It was his ideas that led people to
design machines that could fly:
George Cayley
discovered it worked
better if the wings did
not flap but were
straight and pulled
tightly.
He also raised them up
high above the pilot’s
seat to make it more
balanced.

6. • The Wright brothers created propellers
for pulling in the air and pulling the
plane forward.
• They also discovered that curved wings
make the plane move faster.

7. Watch this video to see these
planes in action!

8. Things to think about when
designing a flying machine:
Curved surface of wing gives
plane the ability to lift up
Weight of the plane
The shape of the plane needs to
be able to slice through the air – a
narrow front, and a body as
smooth as possible
Seat for a pilot: near the
middle of the plane for
balance. What would happen
otherwise?
Finally, the only power that a wing needs is to be moved forward through the air.
Glider: pushed or brought somewhere high up and dropped.
Powered airplane: Engines either push or pull the wings through the air.

9. Design a plane that will fly by
man power or by gliding through
the air.
• Think carefully about the materials you
use and how heavy it is.
• Think about which materials are better
for wings/the body etc.
• Be creative, but remember that you can
only use lollypop sticks, paper,
matchsticks, Sellotape, Pritt stick,
crepe paper and elastic bands! Keep it
simple!