Challenge: Leonardo da Vinci invents the airplane.

wormyguy

Banned
Can you create a world in which Leonardo da Vinci builds a flying machine capable of taking off and flying under its own power?

POD may be any time, but the later, the better.
 
A glider, perhaps, or even conceivably a hot air balloon, but nothing shy of ASB intervention is going to make a heavier-than-air self-powered aircraft possible in Leo's time. That requires a power source that is light enough and powerful enough, which would require a POD so much earlier than Leo as to butterfly him and most of his cntemporary history away.
 
This idea is brought up quite often - me and another user called euio have already explored it some time ago.

Even today, working manned ornithopters are still more in the realm of experimentation, than everyday use. Even if the Da Vinci plane wouldn't be a 'thopter, but a fixed-wing plane, there would be absolutely no engine or other means of propulsion (human legs, etc.) to power it in that era (turn of the 15./16.th century).

The most powerful and compact steam engines of the 19. century weren't much fit for that role as well. One exception may be Percy Pilcher's design, which was proven to be able to fly, when a replica of it was tried out a few years ago. But besides him, petrol engines were the first to really effectively propel either planes or airships.

An ASB scenario would work much better for this.

Here's mine : https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=98574

And here's euio's : https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=58570

Have fun reading ! :)
 
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