Leonardo da Vinci's Flying Machine Kit

Book excerpt: Painter, architect, scientist, inventor—Leonardo da Vinci ranks as history's consummate innovator. Consumed with a boundless desire for knowledge, he investigated technical challenges that were hundreds of years ahead of his time. The power of flight was a particular source of fascination for him, and his close studies of bird anatomy and movement informed his development of the ornithopter — a winged, human-powered aircraft. With Leonardo's da Vinci's Flying Machine, you can create a fully working model of the inventor's amazing creation. This self-contained model kit features a 48-page book with details from Leonardo's notebooks plus full-color, easily joined components. Once assembled, the wings flap by turning a crank. Like the prototype, your model won't actually fly, but you'll have an amazing replica of one of the Renaissance genius's most famous futuristic inventions.