Mindsigh

Leonardo’s helicopter

Posted by jerry on November 26th, 2003 — Posted in History, Technology

Leonardo da Vinci was notorious for leaving out key details in his notebook designs – another aspect of his information security protocols (like writing backwards). But, given that at least some of his designs would seem to work, like his wooden air supply pipe for a diving helmet, it would seem reasonable to explore some of his other designs. The helicopter (yes power to weight ratio is clearly a problem) has a significant design flaw as it stands. At the moment, the pilot would push the capstan to rotate the rotor by applying force through feet to the floor. But once enough speed was achieved to provide lift, the floor would contra-rotate, leaving the pilot without anything to push against. Now picture Leonardo’s helicopter linked as a pair with a mirror image helicopter and now two pilots – they would be able to work together applying force against each other… I wonder if that might just get off the ground?

Cheers

Jerry

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