Bloodied Wings

Hello everyone, I'm here to present my very first timeline! I've been toying around with the idea of a much earlier development of flight for quite some time now, and since I came across this board I now have a place for these ideas to come to fruition! As I said, this is my first timeline, and as such it's going to need tons of work, so any commentary, ideas, speculation, suggestions, criticism, etc. aren't just welcomed, they are encouraged. (Because frankly, I need it.)
And so without further adieu, I present to you,




Bloodied Wings




It seems I was always destined to become deeply concerned with the kite; for I recall as one of my earliest memories that while in my cradle a kite came down to me, opened my mouth with it's tail, and struck me many times with it's tail within my lips.

-Leonardo da Vinci, the Codex Atlanticus

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Part 1: Habemus Papam


From "The Inevitable Development: Man Among the Clouds" by Charles Lightoller, 1912

Leonardo da Vinci is naturally seen as "The Father of Flight" in the eyes of many today, but is that really a deserved title? Was flight really out of the grasp of any other dedicated renaissance man? I say nay. In the hotbed of invention and ideas that was renaissance Italy, the development of flying was inevitable, as all the ingredients of flight were there. Any of the many thinkers of the day would have had access to the proper materials, and the support from the other thinkers of the day. The artisans of the renaissance were some of the best that the world has yet seen, and had unprecedented contact with one another.
The only hindrances to the development of such vehicles lies in the will of these great minds to do such a thing, and the inability to publish any findings, or work at them in a proper scientific method.
But nonetheless, so long as the will was generated the rest would certainly fall into place over time.

From "Habemus Papam: a Papal Retrospective" by Pericle Felici, 1978

One of the most famous Habaemus Papaem announcements of course was that of Pope Alexander VI.
On the fateful day of August 11 1492, the Cardinal Proto-Deacon cried out, "Qui sibi nomen imposuit Alexander Sextus!" And at that moment a man leaped from the roof of Old St. Peter's Basilica. This man was one who would become familiar to all, Leonardo da Vinci. And of course as the story goes, he swooped across the crowd in his glider and landed nearly five hundred metres away to near the base of the Castel Sant'Angelo. This feat at first startled the crowd, as well as the Cardinal Proto-Deacon, causing the newly announced Pope to run out to the balcony prematurely after reportedly hearing the Proto-Deacon yell, "Cazzo santo!"[1] to see a large glider flying over the crowd in front of the Basilica.
Once da Vinci landed, however he was arrested by Papal guards. And on the 30th of August, he was told to come before the Pope himself.

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Excerpt from a note from Pope Alexander VI to his son, Giovanni Borgia, 1492

Giovanni, my son I haven't spoken to you in so long. It truly is a shame, but alas my succession to the Papacy has taken much of my time away from me, as has the ruling of Gandia and Sessa for you I am certain.
Though, beyond my newfound Papal duties, certainly the most interesting thing to have occurred as of late was the flying man! Yes, yes a man soared over the crowd in a bizarre winged contraption on the day of my Habemus Papam announcement! It was perhaps the most spectacular thing I've yet seen, and perhaps will ever see until I reach the Kingdom of Heaven! The man flew from the top of St. Peter's Basilica to Castel Sant'Angelo! When he landed, he was arrested immediately by the Corsican Guards of course, and the ceremonies continued as if it hadn't happened. Though it was my utmost desire to meet the man who flew as soon as could be arranged.
Naturally things were rather hectic in the days following the announcement, and later the coronation...[2]...Finally, on the final Thursday of August, I got my wish, and the flying man came before me, and of course he was brought to me in shackles. The man had a distinctly disappointed look upon his face, I recall. That however immediately changed when I told the guards to remove the chains that bound him.
The Cardinals and guards were naturally surprised, as they were used to the rule of Pope Innocent VIII.[3]
I then spoke to the man, who said his name was Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci. He seemed to be a very decent fellow, and I gleaned much knowledge of his flying machine. He said that the design could be improved greatly, however he lacked the required funds or manpower to do such a thing. And given how much his stunt impressed me (And my Proto-Deacon as well! The demonstration startled him into speaking such profanity that I would never have imagined being spoken by his tongue!) so much that I agreed to help him in any way that I could.

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From da Vinci's "Codex on the Flight of Man"

The demonstration was a complete success, though the result was not as immediate as I had hoped, it came nevertheless.
On the night of the tenth, I entered the Vatican and climbed to the top of the Basilica on several occasions, carrying my glider piece by piece. This process was only made possible by making friends with the Papal Guards. (It seems the shortest path to a guard's heart is through money!) They promised to look the other way while I transported and reassembled my contraption, though the day guards never caught on to my presence.
After several hours, the flying machine was once again in it's final form.
As I've written earlier I'd tested her on several occasions over the hills outside of Florence, and she preformed beautifully, and I hadn't expected any less of her today. As the sun rose that morning, this belief was reinforced, as I had seen a kite soaring in the same path I would take later that day.
The flight itself actually went far better than expected, and I was worried for a moment that I might end up landing in the Tiber River! However, due to some expert maneuvering, I managed not to land in the river, but in the arms of a group of Papal Guards. They proceeded to throw me into a dungeon for nearly a month before sending me to Pope Alexander himself. I was certain I was going to be sentenced to death, however to the contrary, he's funded the further development of my flying machines, given me residence right here in Rome, and my own workshop! He's even gone to the trouble of contacting some of the greatest minds in Europe to work on this. However he did ask to keep my Caterina,[4] I steadfastly refused, however I am building a flying machine just for him, to repay his kindness to me.[5]



[1] "Holy Dick!" in English.
[2] Descriptions of the ceremony were edited out.
[3] Innocent VII was widely known for his strong stance against witchcraft, and it is widely believed that had da Vinci preformed this stunt during his Papacy, he would have been killed.
[4] Caterina is what he called this glider, it's believed to be named after his mother.
[5] In typical da Vinci fashion, he never finished it.

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P.S. I do apologize in advance if updates are slow and short, and for any historical inaccuracies. as I'm just getting used to this sort of thing, and I'm learning about this time period as I go.​
 
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This seems to be nice, I like it!

So, will we eventually see pseudo-helicopters, or any other inventions of Da Vinci that were neevr realized in our timeline?
 
Part 2: The Flying Demon's Wrath

From "A Mechanical Sacrificial Calf" by Isaac Brock, 2007


The family of Rodrigo Borgia went down in history for a great deal of things, however what is potentially their most stunning achievement is overshadowed by the controversies that surrounded them, and that was allowing man to take to the skies, but many seem to overlook that this was actually another one of the controversies that surrounded Pope Alexander VI.
How could this possibly be a controversy? Because of Pope Innocent VIII.
One of the things Innocent VIII was most remembered for was his Papal Bull, the "Summis desiderantes affectibus." This Papal Bull gave the Church a strong stance against witchcraft, and putting it to blame for poor weather, crop failures, crime, and starvation. Not only did it solidify the Church's stance against it, but it also called for a systematic inquisition in Germany. A few years later, he called for another inquisition in Spain.
Suddenly, Innocent VIII was replaced by a Pope who's announcement was marked by a man flying across the crowd in front of Saint Peter's Basilica! The flying man didn't even get excommunicated, let alone put to death! In fact, he received funds, housing, a workshop, and manpower directly from the pope! And thus began the second scandal of Alexander's Papacy.[1] This scandal truly divided the Cardinals between those who disagreed with his support of manned flight, and those who either agreed with his support or were too afraid to stand against him. Many who agreed were so impressed with da Vinci's demonstration that they believed that the demonstration could be made into an inaugural tradition of sorts.[2]
Those who disagreed, on the other hand believed the act to be witchcraft, and that da Vinci should be excommunicated or killed. Some even went as far as to call Alexander VI to resign.

Excerpt from da Vinci's "Codex on the Flight of Man" 1493

It seems my workshop has become quite the sight to see for travelers ever since that day last August. In fact, a man arrived from Istanbul with a few books. Unfortunately I am unsure of how to write the man's name. It truly is a shame, as what he brought to me was invaluable and needs to be recorded.
But a name that I do have belongs to the most notable of the books that the man brought to me, "The Book of Military Horsemanship and Ingenious War Devices." This tome contains numerous recipes for gunpowder, and a few designs for rockets. (Among other things that are also of interest, but they are for another time!) All of which were splendidly translated into Italian!
In fact, all of these texts, whether they be from Arabia or the Orient relate to the art of rocketry in some way. That being said, it seems to me that the man was on to something, and once I finish reading these books, I will most certainly begin work on a new iteration of my design!

From a letter from Pope Alexander to his son Cesare, 1495

You really must come see the next one, Cesare, Leonardo says it to be a fantastic thing! I know you must be sick of these gliders, but this one is to be different, I promise you. He says he has imitated the finest rocket designs of the orient and has applied them to this craft, and that will allow it to soar to far greater heights than before without even a tower to leap from! Can you imagine that Cesare? Simply seeing the earlier models was a sight to see, but this is something entirely different! Naturally, this experiment will not be within the City of Rome, but regardless I will arrange for you and anyone you wish to accompany you to come and see this spectacular event! I already have word that Giovanni will be attendance, so please do not miss out.

From "Closer to Heaven: the Airborne Deaths of the Renaissance" by Thomas Selfridge - 1908

The first recorded death in a flying machine happened on the fateful day of Wednesday, February 18th 1495.
On that day, around a hundred people, most were residents of Rome, or the surrounding area, but a few notables also showed up. Among these were the Borgia family. The weather was reportedly quite calm and peaceful. It was also an unseasonably warm day, much to the delight of all in attendance. The pilot was, naturally going to be Leonardo, as he was the pilot for all of his previous experiments, and as such would be the only one capable of controlling a rocket propelled craft.
There was much commotion and talk throughout the crowd until da Vinci gave a short announcement of what was going to happen and about the craft. No one is certain exactly what was said, nor how long the speech was, all that we know is that he never finished it. He never finished it, as Cesare Borgia, who was unhappy with even attending stood up and said "Get on with it, flying man!"
Leonardo, always quick, retorted, "Yes, flying man get on with it. I've been waiting for you to fly away!"[3]
Cesare immediately stepped forward and got on board da Vinci's flying machine, reportedly saying "Yes, I'll fly the damn thing if you won't!"
Leonardo approached him, and attempted to dissuade him, however Cesare simply took the torch from Leonardo's hand and lit the fuse to the rockets.
Reports say he soared into the air rapidly, and experts say the initial thrust startled him into sending the craft into a rapid unstable roll seconds after takeoff. This roll caused the wings to bend far beyond what it was capable, and the left wing snapped near the apex of it's trajectory, and the young Borgia fell to his death.

[1] The first scandal happened during his election, as he offered positions of importance and gifts to the electors, a charge known as simony.
[2] The election of Pope Julius II ended all hopes for this to become reality, however.
[3] Different sources claim he said different things, all that is definitively known is that he responded, and it angered Cesare.
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In response to nlspeed, I doubt there will be helicopters in this timeline for quite a while, and for the others that's a maybe, as the POD in this timeline really makes him focus on flight above all else. But then again anyone who sees a flying machine come from him might want to commission some other mechanisms. I'm writing this as I go, so it really could go anywhere.
 
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