Project and realization:
Fausto Colombo, Giorgio Valentini, 1991
Model from:
Manoscritto B, f. 83v
wood, iron, canvas
cm h 260, diametro 320, diametro base 134
Description:
The drawing of the aerial screw, one of Leonardo’s best-known designs, was for a long time interpreted as an early conception of the modern helicopter. The model is made of a spiral of linen cloth circling a vertical shaft which is set into a round platform. The screw was presumably set in motion by four men who turned the shaft by pushing on their respective horizontal bars as they ran round the central platform, In a fairly small model, the spinning motion could be attained by rapidly unwinding a rope coiled around the base of the vertical shaft, like the string used in whirligig toys already fashionable in Leonardo’s days.