Helicopters
The “aerial screw” – essentially a man-powered helicopter – was another one of da Vinci’s fantastical inventions dreamt up but (at the time) impossible to bring into reality.
An actual helicopter wouldn’t be built until the mid-20th century, but da Vinci’s version is considered one of the earliest prototypes, if not the first.
It was just one of several contemplated inventions da Vinci cooked up as part of his obsession with human flight.
In 2013, a team of Canadian inventors actually managed to pull off da Vinci’s idea, achieving the world’s first man-powered helicopter flight.
