 |
Leonardo's Dream Machines
Did Leonardo da Vinci create the blueprints that could have given the world the supergun of its day and the gift of flight, or were his designs merely fanciful? In this two-part programme, today's experts attempt to bring to life two of his most ambitious designs, an 80ft crossbow and a glider based on a recurring wing shape in his drawings.
Leonardo was one the greatest thinkers and designers of all time, but work with Filippo Brunelleschi on the great dome of Florence Cathedral taught him that to be a great artist you also had to be a great engineer. However, in putting his dream machines to the test, the two teams find that over the years, Leonardo's work has been lost, vandalised, or possibly deliberately destroyed.
And in not deviating from the 500-year-old designs, the teams must overcome their inclination to draw on 20th century techniques.
Dave Hepworth, a structural engineer and expert bow maker, leads the crossbow building team with Ivan Williams, a design engineer with 20 years experience making ancient weapons. They must get to grips with the extreme stresses and strains inherent in the weapon, while Steve Roberts and Martin Kimm, world famous for recreating the milestone machines of aviation history, aim to take Leonardo's designs for a flying machine to the air. Paulo Galluzzi, director of the Science Museum in Florence and a world authority on building Leonardo's machines, advises on the best ways to match practicality with authenticity, by choosing only materials that would have been available at that time.
A slide show of images from the programme is also available.
|
|
