Leonardo's Wing Tester

Bernard Ambrose

Size: 30 x 15.5  x 9 cm

Crank mechanism

When you press the lever upwards the wing will raise.

By this mechanism Leonardo da Vinci intended to test the effect of air resistance. Leonardo planned to make the wing out of paper, it should have been a length and a width of 20 arm lengths (around 12 meters). The bearing of the wing is attached to a block of wood which has a weight of 200 pounds. If you push down the big beam quickly

the wing will lower at the same time. The air resistance causes the bearing and the block of wood to lift off.