by Marie Curie 
Da Vinci Notes 16: The Great Bird: Wings, the Screw and the Tent
In Milan I drew wings for a man to beat, a screw of linen to climb the air and a tent to fall under. In Florence I learned why his arms could never drive them.
Leonardo's ornithopters, the aerial screw of Manuscript B and the pyramid parachute, why human muscle was too weak, and how the 2000 parachute test went.
Leonardo da Vinci
November 8, 2026
27 min