Was DaVinci's helicopter powered by Heron's engin (rocket engine)?

[kokes]

In course of my turbine/propeller programming I studied thoroughly pictures of DaVinci's helicopter and I discovered it was most likely meant to be propelled by an engine, Heron's engine to be exact. Now since one of my propellers is very similar to DaVinci's and I really want to test it I thought this place may get me some feedback first, before I spent money on a model. The Heron's engine is basically a pot where water is boiling and jets are placed tangentially on a circumference that spit the steam out making the pot spin ultra-fast. It is the only engine that was known in Leonardo's times. What do you think?

Original drawing:


Parts that "don't fit". Does this look like smoke, perhaps from a fire somewhere inside?


This seems to me like a steam spewing out of a pipe:


And this seems like a proof of cylindrical shape, most likely a pipe, on a perimeter:


My reconstruction using SW I wrote. Small airfoil toward outside yellowed:


Same thing, large airfoil toward inside yellowed:


This could be very important for me since I am about to start a crowdfunding campain with my vanes, and this could be made into a nice perk. But spending any money on anything that doesn't bring me money back is a luxury at this point of my life, after 10 years of independent self-supported development. Tell me what you think. Could DaVinci have meant a motorized vehicle with rocket-engine like propulsion? Would this count as, say, a reconstruction? Let me know.

Jan

 

[Lowpuller]

Human powered, like a row boat, with a clutch type mechanism. Push then pull, push then pull,............

Required two people, light and strong.......

See the link below for a working prototype.


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Ok, there is no working prototype, but that is how I always imagined it to work.

 

[kokes]

Human powered, like a row boat, with a clutch type mechanism. Push then pull, push then pull,............

Required two people, light and strong.......

Says who? Certainly not DaVinci. He wrote that is could be made of reed and canvas + starch, and that it could fly very high if spun fast (which eliminates a hovercraft-like of action, so does the platform at the bottom). There was no mention of how it should be spun in DaVinci's notes, we have to refer to a drawing for that. Which I did.

 

[Nytrunner]

Says who? Certainly not DaVinci. He wrote that is could be made of reed and canvas + starch, and that it could fly very high if spun fast (which eliminates a hovercraft-like of action, so does the platform at the bottom). There was no mention of how it should be spun in DaVinci's notes, we have to refer to a drawing for that. Which I did.

Hmm, that's odd, several online resources describe it as designed with human power in mind (which is why it could never be built)

Here's just one example.
https://www.leonardodavincisinventions.com/inventions-for-flight/leonardo-da-vinci-helicopter/


I think it'd be cool to see it powered by something, but I don't think his initial sketches indicate steam power.

 

[kokes]

I think you're right. He might have meant a gunpowder as a propellant, after all he is credited for flint-locks sometimes, so he must have had significant knowledge of a gun powder. Steam was also part of his interest, he invented a steam cannon, based on Archimedes' cannon. I will do the testing using electric motor as I can regulate the revolutions and measure the lift. First of all I may do little fireworks rocket model to see if it actually flies. Who knows. I may start off with my vanes, finish them first and use them as perks for this, as this could make some nice jetpack sized helicopters or something having such small radius and a large surface, compared to present rotors. Or whatever. I am quite happy as is.

 

[dr wogz]

the big obvious thing with this, is, that once it leaves the ground, it looses the ground friction to stop the platform from spinning in the oppocite direction when you push, pull, twirl or what ever to get the auger blades spinning.. (that whole "tail rotor" thing...)

And personally, I think the blade, the screw part, is too large for the type of fluid it's in..

But the steam concept is quite intriguing. never thought of it. could very well aid in its spin..

 

[kokes]

The gun powder idea is nonsense. It would produce smoke only going out the jets, not in mid-section. The picture speaks for the steam. By the large volume of a smoke column and the small volume of steam I assume the message of the picture was:

large fire + small steam -> high speed

the big obvious thing with this, is, that once it leaves the ground, it looses the ground friction to stop the platform from spinning in the oppocite direction when you push, pull, twirl or what ever to get the auger blades spinning.. (that whole "tail rotor" thing...)

Yes. I think that is what the poles are for, but I am unsure how it should work. The central pillar would have to spin in opposite direction to the screw.

Also note that the way steam exits it would push the helicopter into the ground. I think it was intentional, parking position with engine running. One would need to switch a valve for steam to exit through lower half of the pipe in order for it to spin correctly. That's what this may be for:


But again, it is uncertain.

And personally, I think the blade, the screw part, is too large for the type of fluid it's in..

I think in these directions as well. I am unsure about the size, but I did come up with several variants of the screw. This one should be good for high density low speed situations:


While this one should best work in low density high speeds:


And the one I showed previously is mid-way:

[steam] could very well aid in its spin..

I thought so. And I came to conclusion that the original drawing might have had incorporated it.