“ Man when flying must stand free from the waist upwards so as to be able to balance himself as he does in a boat so that the centre of gravity in himself and in the machine may counterbalance each other, and be shifted as necessity demands for the changes of its centre of resistance. ”
Leonardo da Vinci, The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci (1478 – 1519). copy citation
| Author | Leonardo da Vinci |
|---|---|
| Source | The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci |
| Topic | resistance change |
| Date | 1478 – 1519 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by Jean Paul Richter in 1888 |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/5000/pg5000-images.html |
Context
“The drawings of carts by the side of this text have no direct connection with the problem as stated in words.—Compare No. 1448, l. 17.]
1121.
A definition as to why a man who slides on ice does not fall. [Footnote: An indistinct sketch accompanies the passage, in the original.]
On Flying machines (1122-1126) .
1122.
Man when flying must stand free from the waist upwards so as to be able to balance himself as he does in a boat so that the centre of gravity in himself and in the machine may counterbalance each other, and be shifted as necessity demands for the changes of its centre of resistance.
1123.
Remember that your flying machine must imitate no other than the bat, because the web is what by its union gives the armour, or strength to the wings.
If you imitate the wings of feathered birds, you will find a much stronger structure, because they are pervious;”
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